From a Scientific Perspective
by Ian757
Summary: Earthbound is a game that represents friendship and trust, manifested very well in Ness's travels throughout the Eagleland. This is a fanfiction that elaborates on vague points in the game and gives more backstory to the characters (especially Jeff.) I hope you enjoy!
1. A Friend in Need

The weather was as typical as always at Snow Wood, light snow and chills running through the air. Huge, metal gates stood bravely in front of the school, drenched in frost and coldness. Strong winds and unforgiving howls of ice whipped through the pines, conducting an orchestra of branch scratching and needles dropping.

Jeff sat at his desk, staring out the large, glass window before him. It showed a serene, almost magical view of the snow falling from the sky and gently caressing the trees and ground with its whiteness. He saw a couple boys, Bill and Rayleigh, having a snowball fight in the courtyard. They were tossing both snowballs and petty insults back and forth, bearing grins and laughing all the while. Jeff knew these two boys fairly well, and had been their friend ever since he enrolled in the school all those years ago. A slight smile crept on Jeff's face as he saw Rayleigh's long, blonde hair slap his eyes to the rhythm of the wind, causing Rayleigh a little frustration.

His smile quickly faded as he returned to his tinkering. He was fixing up an old, beat-up toaster that Maxwell had assigned him as a project. For Jeff, it would normally be a particularly fast and easy task, but he was taking quite a bit longer because of his constant daydreaming. Jeff had barely begun working on the toaster once again when he heard a loud knock on the dorm room door.

"Hey, Jeff! Lemme in! I gotta grab my scarf and boots. Bill, Rayleigh, and I are going out to the shop to buy some snacks."

Jeff rose from his seat and unlocked the door. The one knocking at the door had been Tony, Jeff's only roommate and best friend.

Jeff, although occupied with his assignment, allowed Tony to come in and disrupt his progress.

"Hey, Tony. Come in; I'm not too busy."

Jeff wasn't too thrilled about the work he was doing, so any distraction he could seize was just another way to take his mind off of it.

"So, you're going to the shop?" Jeff asked, yawning a bit. He hadn't taken his usual afternoon nap, so he was a bit groggier than normal.

"Yep. Oh, yeah, you could come too if you want. Totally forgot to ask!" Tony laughed, patting Jeff's shoulder.

Jeff smirked and declined the offer.

"Nah, it's okay. I should really finish up this toaster repair for Maxwell's class. However, could you maybe bring me back a cup of coffee? I'll give you the cash-"

"Don't worry about it! It'll be on me," Tony smiled. "Now, just give us a half hour or so, and we should be back, okay?"

"All right, that should be fine." Jeff replied as he started walking back over to his desk.

Tony quickly jumped over to him and squeezed him around the waist as Jeff squirmed, trying to release himself.

When Jeff was able to escape, he jokingly scolded Tony. "Hey man, don't do that! You know how ticklish I am."

"That's what makes it so fun!" Tony giggled. "All right, torture's over. I'll be right back."

Tony was at the door when Jeff had a sudden realization.

"Hey, you'd better be back before eight, or you'll get locked out and have to stay the night over at the Tessie watching camp. Or worse yet, Maxwell might devise some clever form of punishment for you," Jeff teased.

Tony turned back and reassured Jeff.

"I'll be back in time for curfew, don't worry! And, if I don't, then I guess I'll just have to clean up Maxwell's chemistry experiments for the next semester!" Tony teased right back.

The door slammed shut and Jeff was finally left to finish his project.

Tony, Bill, and Rayleigh walked through the iron gates and headed over to the little store that lied a few feet to the right of the tall, brick fence that encompassed the school building. In the distance were a few stray dogs and gruff goats, casually and almost mindlessly patrolling the area. It was as if somebody had taken control of their minds and put them on alert.

Tony opened the door to the shop and held it for the other boys. They all took a few looks around, seeing the same elderly manager and rookie at the counter. It was only a couple of seconds, however, before they saw a completely unusual surprise to the right of the doorway: a hairy, hyped-up monkey. The boys instantly gathered around it and stood in awe, for none of them had seen a monkey in person before. Most of the kids attending Snow Wood had scarcely left the school since their early childhoods, much less gone far enough away to where they would see something such as a monkey.

"Holy crap, a monkey!' Bill blurted out. "I've never seen one in real life before!"

"Hey, you boys!" A voice yelled from across the store. It was a young, blonde woman standing near the ATM in the back. "Any of you interested in this monkey here? I'll cut you a deal: buy this pack of bubble gum, and you'll get the monkey for free!"

The boys looked at each other and shook their heads when they thought about the reality of taking care of a monkey, especially in a school that didn't allow pets. As cool as it seemed to them, they just wouldn't be able to keep it.

"We'll have to pass that offer up, ma'am." Rayleigh replied.

The woman sighed a breath of disappointment. "Well, if you ever decide to change your minds, he'll be right here."

The boys nodded and headed up to the register to buy some snacks.

"How are you gentlemen today? Can I be of service?" The rookie asked, forcing a professional tone into his voice.

Bill stepped over to the counter. "Yeah. Can I get a skip sandwich with a can of fruit juice, please?"

"Certainly!" The rookie replied, turning around to the refrigerated shelf and plucking out a sandwich and a can of juice. "And for you boys?"

Rayleigh stepped up next. "Could I have a picnic lunch with a slice of chocolate cake, please? Oh, and milk as the drink, please!"

"Of course!" the man answered, grabbing a pre-packed picnic lunch in a case and setting it on the counter. "And for you, my good man?"

Tony thought about it for a minute and responded. "Can I have cup of coffee, a couple bread rolls, and a bottle of water?"

"Great!" The man turned around once more and selected the remaining items, placing them along the others on the counter.

The boys paid, grabbed their goods, and headed out the door. They started walking back to the gates, feeling a soft sheet of snow under their feet that had just replaced the old one.

"Man, I wish that we could have taken that monkey," Tony sighed.

"Yeah, but the principle would've had our butts if we brought _that_ thing into the dorm." Rayleigh retorted.

"It's too bad. I bet Maxwell would've liked it; he might've even let us keep it hidden from the principle somewhere," Tony interjected.

"Yeah, because nobody would notice a big, loud, and especially smelly monkey in the dorm," Rayleigh sarcastically replied.

"Yeah, finally!" Jeff cheered aloud. After some tinkering, Jeff plugged the toaster into the wall, and it started working again.

_I wonder where Tony has been, _Jeff thought to himself. _It's been at least forty-five minutes since he left; I hope he didn't get locked out._

Jeff took a deep breath and headed out of the dorm room, going to the next floor to find a vending machine. He had worked up an appetite trying to find out the problem with the toaster; Maxwell had done something extra devious with the toaster's circuits to try and trick Jeff, but Jeff eventually caught it.

He ascended to the next floor of the huge building and saw a vending machine in the opposite corner from the flight of stairs. He casually walked over to it, puts some coins in, and got a peanut cheese bar; Jeff started munching on it on his way back to his room. When he got back inside and sat down, he had only one thing on his mind: his father. His father had left him at the boarding school many years ago and never returned. Jeff had always heard stories about him saying that he was as great as Einstein or Heisenberg. Jeff, being quite the intellectual himself, was very interested in meeting his father, especially if he was actually as brilliant as he was made out to be.

Throughout most of Jeff's life, there had been really nobody as a parental figure. The closest anybody came to being a real parent towards Jeff was professor Maxwell, who would give Jeff advice and training in scientific matters outside of the classroom. To Jeff, Maxwell was more of a father than his real father, Dr. Andonuts, had ever been.

Jeff lied down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about what he wanted to do for the weekend. It was a Friday night, and he hadn't yet made any plans of anything to do. At Snow Wood, weekends are reserved for students to spend their time in any way they wish, which usually meant camping outside in the courtyard, making bonfires, and getting into trouble. Jeff himself was never a fan of partaking in this type of recreation, but Tony certainly was. Very often, Tony would drag Jeff to bonfires and stay up late with him, sitting next to him in front of the bonfire. Even after everybody had left and gone to sleep, Tony and Jeff would just sit outside together and talk. Tony always had a lot to talk about, but there was one thing that he hadn't quite had the courage to talk to Jeff about; Tony couldn't break any bonds by taking things too far.

Jeff remembered that there would be a school wide winter dance on Saturday night, and he took a few minutes to think about going or not. Most of the kids that attended were of higher grade levels, such as Jeff, who was in his junior year of Snow Wood's version of high school. He was never really one for the dances, typically because he never had anybody to go with. While he could have gone with Bill or Rayleigh, they usually had dates, so he didn't feel comfortable with being a "third wheel". As for Tony, he frequently volunteered at the events, so he had to act as somewhat of a waiter and servant to the students. This left Jeff with essentially no choice but to stay in the dorm, studying up on Tesla or electronics while everyone else was off having fun.

Jeff heard some weak knocks on the door around nine o'clock and lazily forced himself off the bed to answer. To his surprise, it was his dorm neighbor: a tan, dark-haired girl with green eyes.

"Madison? What's up?" Jeff said with concern, noticing her depressed expression.

The girl threw her arms around Jeff and began to cry, "I can't take it anymore, Jeff. Everybody around here is treating me like complete garbage."

Madison was new to the school, having only been attending for a couple weeks. In this time, she had been teased and verbally abused by many of the students for her appearance; she had a lazy eye, which garnered her many hurtful comments and disgust.

Jeff let her in, shut the door, and sat with her on his bed. "I'm sorry about all of this, Maddi. I've heard some of the things those pricks say, and it's horrible. Don't let them get to you."

Madison wiped her eyes and rested her head on Jeff's shoulder, still sobbing quietly. "You know Jeff, you're the only person that's taken me seriously and treated me right these past few weeks here. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

Jeff felt warm inside and smiled. He wasn't very accustomed to girly affection, but accepted it with open arms.

Jeff was the first person that Madison had met when she came to the school. Madison introduced herself to him late one evening after unpacking. It was a Friday night, and like usual, everybody was out doing something outside the dorms. Madison had no roommate, as her room was empty before she arrived. Madison knocked on her neighbor's door and began to get to know Jeff. Ever since, they had formed a strong, trusting friendship.

Jeff interrupted her soft crying to ask her a question. "Hey, would you like a cup of tea? I started brewing some with my burner a few minutes ago. Tony was supposed to be back with some coffee a while ago, but I guess he decided to go to the bonfire."

Madison smiled up at him and nodded. Jeff rose from the bed and filled two cups with green tea. After a few sips, Jeff posed a question. "What happened, Maddi?"

She perked up and tried to compose herself. "I…well…all day today in class, the other kids were talking about the dance, telling me that I should stay in the dorm and that nobody would go with me anyways. Then, about fifteen minutes ago, Rayleigh came up to me in the hall and asked if I had seen Tony. When I said that I didn't, he just started accusing me of lying and called me terrible things."

Jeff snapped his attention towards Madison, a very confused and angry expression slowly coming over his face. "Rayleigh was teasing you?"

"Yeah. He yelled at me, demanding that I tell him the truth. Then, he just ran off down the stairs. He really scared me, Jeff," She sniffled.

The confusion on Jeff's face perpetually grew. "That doesn't sound like Rayleigh at all. Something must be wrong if he's acting so hostile. And about Tony…"

Madison continued. "He said that Tony disappeared after Bill and him had gotten back inside he school gates."

Jeff had a strike of realization. "Tony must be missing. That's why he never showed up, and that's why Rayleigh is acting so irrational."

Jeff jumped from his bed to put on his jacket and boots. Madison looked over at him quizzically. Jeff noticed this and responded. "I'm going to look for Tony. Stray dogs and goats come around at night, and sometimes even bears. I gotta make sure that Tony's okay."

Madison got up and looked at him worrisomely. "Jeff, you can't go out alone right now. It's too dangerous!"

"Tony's out there, and I can't leave him to be bear food. I'll grab some stuff from the lockers downstairs to take with me just in case," Jeff told her.

Madison sat up and began to speak, smiling slightly. "If you're going, I'm going. You're the only person that I can trust, and I can't let _you _be bear food too."

Jeff smiled and motioned for her to head out. "Go grab your boots and jacket and meet me at the lockers, okay?"

Madison nodded and quickly went back inside her dorm, frantically putting on her garments. After a few minutes, she rushed down the staircase and flew into the storage room to see Jeff scavenging through them. He pulled out a magnum air gun, two flashlights, and a popgun. He tossed her the popgun and put the air gun in his khakis. Madison looked at the gun and then up at Jeff.

Jeff saw her confusion. "It's been modified; instead of a cork on a string, it shoots out bb's through a tube that has very strong springs. It won't kill anything, but it should be enough to hurt a lot."

Madison gave an understanding nod and put the gun in her skirt loop. "Alright," Jeff began. "Let's go."

The two opened the entrance doors and headed outside. Upon exiting the school, they saw that the gates were closed.

"How are we supposed to get out now?" Madison asked, inspecting the gates.

"I have an idea, but it would mean that only one of us could go over," Jeff replied flatly. As he finished his statement, the large school doors crashed open and a boy stood at the entrance. "Jeff! Madison! Hold on!" It was Rayleigh, looking as panicked as ever.

"Rayleigh? Look, I don't know what your problem is, but Madison told me all about what you said. I understand that you're upset, as am I, but it doesn't call for being a jackass." Jeff said sternly.

Rayleigh jogged over to them, out of breath from running around the school searching for Tony. "I'm sorry, guys. I know it was an awful thing for me to snap at you, Madison, but I just lost it. Tony is missing, and I can't find him!"

Jeff analyzed the situation. "Look, I think we can forgive you as long as you do one favor for us."

Rayleigh's eyes grew with compliance. "Yeah, yeah, anything!"

Jeff turned and gazed towards the gates. "I need you to boost Madison and I over the gates."

Rayleigh's expression became very worried. "What? You can't do that! It's too dangerous!"

Jeff whipped back around, passion in his eyes. "Tony's out there, damn it, and I can't leave him to die. Now, I gave you an option. Help us get over the fence, or you can just get out of here and we'll find another way."

Rayleigh sighed and walked over to the gate, readying his knee and hands. Jeff nodded appreciatively as he and Madison were pushed over the fence. Standing on the other side of the fence, Jeff began to talk to Rayleigh. "Don't tell anyone that you helped us; I don't want you to get your ass as deep as ours for this, too."

Rayleigh smiled sincerely. "I won't. Just be careful, okay?"

Jeff and Madison began walking down through the snowy paths and slight slopes just above the Tessie watching camp. They searched all around the area, yelled out his name numerous times, but had no luck in finding Tony. Exasperated, Jeff sat with his back to a tree. "Where could he possibly be?"

"Let's try asking around the camp; maybe they know something," Madison proposed.

Jeff agreed, and the two began walking down towards the encampment. This encampment was dedicated to discovering a mythic lake monster, "Tessie", which was rumored to live in the lake that lied south of Snow Wood.

Being that it was so late at night, there weren't any of the watchers outside the tents. Jeff looked around to see if any of the tents had a lantern lit, meaning that somebody could be still be awake. Once he finally spotted canvass glowing towards the back of the camp, Jeff and Madison headed over. Jeff went over to the tent opening and stuck his head under, meeting the gaze of a man in front of a stew cooker.

"Sorry to intrude, but have you by any chance seen a boy wearing a Snow Wood uniform and a black hat?" Jeff inquired.

The man set down a bowl of stew and thought about it. "Actually, yes. He came by a while ago and had some stew. He had some sort of chimp with him, too; Damn thing got gum stuck to my tent."

Jeff became very interested and excited. "You did?! Do you happen to know where he went?"

The man shook his head. "I can't say that I do. Check around the water's edge; that's where I last saw him."

Jeff nodded appreciatively and left the tent. He explained to Madison that Tony was indeed around this area and still could be. They both went to the edge of the huge lake, scanning for any sign of Tony. After some fifteen minutes or so, Madison called out to Jeff. "Hey, is this his hat?" She said, waving it in the air at Jeff. Jeff darted over to her and inspected the hat, confirming that it belonged to Tony. Every passing second that Jeff spent analyzing it bathed his face more and more in feelings of anxiety and fear.

"He must be around here somewhere," Jeff began. "I won't give up until we find him."

Madison shook her head in agreement and spoke. "Jeff," she started, putting her hand on his shoulder. "_We _won't give up. Tony's your best friend, and I owe it to you to stick with you as long as it takes to find him."

Jeff looked at her, smiling. She returned the look, and they stood looking at one another for a few seconds, Jeff putting his hand on Madison's. She squeezed his hand as they stood there, admiring one another. He gazed into her eyes, not noticing the offset one. In this instant, he saw how beautiful Madison was. Her black hair blew lightly in the wind, and her emerald eyes shined in the darkness. Jeff wanted to take things a little further, but he knew that he still had a lost friend to find.

_Not now, man. We've gotta look for Tony. Give it time._

Jeff broke the silence, gently releasing her hand. "I'm going to go ask the stew guy if there's a boat we can use. I don't know if it's even possible, but maybe Tony somehow ferried across the lake and got to the other side. I gotta do everything possible to find him. _We _gotta,I mean." He smirked. Madison giggled back and agreed.

Jeff jogged over to the tent and stuck his head in once more. "Sorry to bother you again, but you guys don't happen to have a boat that we could borrow, do you?"

The man sat up from his leaning position against the tent post and spoke. "Yeah, I do. There's a tarp behind my tent that's covering a boat and some paddles. Just bring 'em back when you finish; I don't wanna have to report to Snow Wood that some kids ran off with my boat," he said jokingly but with a hint of sincerity.

Jeff nodded and left the tent, going to the other side to retrieve the boat. He called Madison over and had her help him carry the boat to the water. Once they got it in, they jumped on and started paddling towards the opposite side.

"As far as I know, there's only this opposite side that has any real places to go, making it likely that Tony headed here if he did in fact go past the camp. The steep hills that stand on both sides of the area in front of the school to the camp make it very unlikely that he went anywhere else,' Jeff concluded.

Madison started laughing softly. "I see the scientist in you, Jeff. It's faintly coming out with that deductive reasoning."

"It runs in the family," Jeff said, chuckling back lightly.

It was very dark outside now, and the moon illuminated the clear water. Sometimes in Winters, the lake would freeze over, given very cold temperatures. However, being that it was only early December, the lake still had a couple weeks before the ice would capture it.  
They eventually hit the other side of the lake and brought the boat onto the shore. Stepping out, Jeff and Madison quietly examined the unfamiliar area. Neither of them had ever been in this part of the landscape, and didn't really know what to expect. They slowly and carefully walked south and soon found a lit cave entrance. It appeared as if the cave had been constructed, like it was man-made. They were apprehensive about going inside but discovered that a large object was blocking the only other way around the cave. Jeff stepped closer to assess it, rubbing his lower chin. "It looks like a giant, iron pencil."

Madison, in a state of disbelief, observed the object herself. "I can't say that I believed you, but now that I see it, I guess you're right. Never seen anything like this before."

Jeff nodded, his mouth slightly agape with surprise and amusement. "Well, it looks like we'll have to go through the cave."

The two kids walked into the cave and took in the area. There were lines of massive, brown rocks creating a maze around the whole cave as well as large light dishes on the ceiling.

"A maze, huh? Let's do it," Madison said confidently. They both started making their way through the maze when they noticed a white box wrapped with a red ribbon sitting in the middle of their path. Curious, the two walked towards it. Jeff reached over to undo the ribbon when something sprang out of the box.

Jeff fell back, being caught by Madison. A purplish pile of goo with little black, beady eyes stood before them.

"What the hell?" Jeff stammered, completely in shock by the sight of the strange creature. "Is that a living pile of protoplasm?"

Before he had time to continue, Madison pulled Jeff's magnum air gun from his khakis and shot the pile of slime repeatedly until it melted into the ground.

Jeff looked at Madison and the defeated protoplasm back and forth, still in awe. Madison spoke. "That was…odd."

Jeff, still in a reverie, replied. "Yeah…really. Good use of the gun, by the way. Let's continue…"

They stepped over the puddle and found their way through the maze, finding the exit only minutes after fighting the slime. Upon exiting, they were greeted by a bald man wearing overalls. "Maybe it was too easy?"

The two kids turned and looked up at the man with his back leaning on the wall.

The man kept going. "Hello there guys, I'm Brick Road. I love making mazes and dungeons; it's always been a passion of mine. Anyways, since you've found you're way out, I'm guessing you're here for a reason. Nobody would be out here this late, trudging around in the dark like this otherwise."

"Yes, actually. Have you happened to see a kid wearing a Snow Wood uniform around here?"

The man scratched his head and remembered. "Ah, yes, I believe I did. He was here maybe an hour ago, but he's gone and left now. Went on through the caves over there, I think." He pointed to another cave entrance a few feet away. "Is he a friend of yours?"

"Yeah, he is. He was supposed to be back before dark, but he never showed up." Jeff explained.

"Well now, you must be real good friends of his to go all the way out here at this hour to look for him," Brick Road smiled.

"We've been friends as long as I could remember, and I was really worried about him. I'm just glad that we're on the right track," Jeff sighed, relieved. "Thanks for the help, sir. I guess we'll be heading for the caves now."

"Take care, kids," Brick Road said as he waved a goodbye.

Jeff and Madison entered the next cave, noticing that it was very dark and damp inside, much unlike Brick Road's. They shined their flashlights around and heard the sound of a monkey in the distance.

"Is that…a _monkey_?" Madison asked rhetorically.

Jeff had a sudden realization. "The stew guy mentioned something about some 'chimp' that tagged along with Tony. Maybe Tony somehow got hold of a monkey?"

Then, spontaneously, they heard running coming from down the cave. Jeff and Madison readied their guns and flashlights. They caught somebody in their beams, stopping in front of them for breath; it was Tony.

"Guys! What are you doing down here?" Tony asked, trying to catch his breath.

Jeff's face turned concerned and agitated. "I could ask you the same damn question. We came here looking for you because you never showed up at the school. What the hell were you thinking? You stayed out past curfew, crossed the lake, and went inside these random caves. You could've been killed!"

Tony gave a sheepish, apologetic look. "I'm sorry that I worried you, Jeff. And you too, Madison. The story is that I found this monkey at the shop and wanted to take it, but the guys didn't want to. I decided to turn back and do it anyways, leaving Bill and Rayleigh to walk back into the school without me. I thought they heard me say that I was going back, but the wind must've been too loud. So I went back, bought the monkey, and when I made my way for the school, he just took off towards the Tessie watcher encampment. I didn't want to lose him, so I followed." Tony had to catch his breath once again from talking so quickly. "And this is the part you won't believe. The monkey led me to a spot in front of the lake, and the wind started blowing; it was way harder than usual. Then, out of nowhere, something rose out of the lake; it was Tessie!"

Jeff removed his glasses and wiped his face in utter disappointment and disbelief. "Tony, did you buy some secret herbs off of Bill or something? You realize how you sound right now, don't you?"

"Jeff, I'm telling the truth!" Tony said with total honesty. "Tessie came out of the lake, picked us both up, and swam us over in front of Brick Road's maze. We passed through it, and I just got so curious that I had to keep going! That's why I ended up in here. I stopped going because…well…something creepy as hell is at the end of this place. I couldn't quite see very well in the dark, but it looked like a giant spore of some kind!"

"Let's just go. You can tell what happened in the morning when that herb has worn off," Jeff replied, just as cynical as ever.

"Fine, don't believe me. One day, you'll see that I'm not just making this up," Tony pouted.

The three kids left the cave, retraced their steps through the maze, and finally got to the shore where the boat had been lying. They pushed the boat into the lake and started rowing, becoming aware of the slowly rising sun. The sunrises in Winters were sights to behold, especially at the lake. The water was glazed with hundreds of shades of orange and purple lazily drifting in a pendulum-like motion across the ripples. The wind was halted, and the sound of the pure water splashing against itself could be heard. Jeff broke the silence that had lingered since once again going through the maze. "We can't keep the monkey, you know. We'll have to return it to the shop."

Tony shook his head understandingly but with a hint of sadness. "All right, fine. But only because you say so, Jeff."

The three kids hit the shore of the encampment and pulled the boat over to the stew guy's tent, placing the tarp back over it. With tired eyes and legs, they continued walking back up towards Snow Wood. They reached the shop and entered.

"So, who sold this to you?" Jeff turned and asked Tony.

"It was that blonde woman over there in the corner," he replied.

Jeff walked with the monkey and plopped him in front of the woman. "You can have him back. And here's the gum that came with him."

"What? I made a deal with that boy over there, and he-"

Jeff interrupted. "I don't give half a damn about any deal you made; I'm leaving this monkey here with you. The dorm won't allow it, and we can't take it. Sorry."

The blonde woman grew irritated. "Fine then. There are no refunds, just so you know."

"Yeah, whatever. It was only two dollars, so I don't really care. Bye," Jeff retorted sternly. He didn't intend to be rude, but his exhaustion and built-up frustration resulted in this caustic behavior. He motioned for the other two to leave, and out the door they went.

Surprisingly, the gates were already open. Jeff concluded that the maintenance crew had opened them up to initiate the heat generator outside the school. Quite often, it had to be rebooted due to faulty wiring.

_You'd think that with a school of scientists that somebody'd fix the thing, _Jeff thought, walking through the gates. For them, however, it was rather convenient.

They opened the front doors and surreptitiously crept inside, trying their best to not alert anybody, especially staff. Luckily, they had made it back to their rooms without problems. Tony went inside his room and dropped onto the bed, falling asleep instantly. Jeff smiled and stood outside the door with Madison. "Thanks for coming along, Maddi. It wouldn't have been as easy without you."

Madison smiled and blushed. "I'm glad to have. It was really nice to spend some time with you, Jeff." Madison hugged Jeff. Madison still in his arms and with her head on his shoulder, Jeff spoke. "Remember what you said about those kids in class yesterday?"

Madison formed a frown and nodded. Jeff continued. "Well, they were wrong. There is somebody that would absolutely _love_ to go to the dance with you, Maddi."

Madison lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at Jeff with glassy, loving eyes. Smiles formed on both of their faces, and Madison planted a kiss on Jeff's lips.


	2. Cries for Help

After saying goodbye to Madison, Jeff walked back into his room, the early morning sun shining faintly through the window curtains and spilling onto his work desk. He removed his boots and dressed himself in his nightwear, collapsing on his bed soon after. It was around six in the morning now; their little adventure to find Tony had taken quite a while. Between the boat rides, cave exploring, and preparation, the journey had taken roughly a few hours. Being that it was the weekend, Jeff wasn't worried about throwing his sleeping schedule off a bit and getting some late rest.

_I'll sleep until around noon; that should give me enough energy to at least make it through the day, _Jeff thought. _The dance won't be until seven, so I can probably sneak a nap somewhere before then. _

Jeff fell asleep after he finished his thoughts, and drifted away. He had a sequence of dreams, mostly about unreal deadlines or projects that he had to turn in. He'd have these types of dreams often, wake up anxious, and then realize that he was in the clear. But this time, he had another, different type of dream. It was very strange, almost tangible, even.

_…Hello…Jeff…?_

Jeff heard the faltering voice of a young girl amidst nothing but blackness in his mind.

_I am Paula…can you hear me? Please help us…_

Jeff quickly jumped up in bed, beads of sweat going down his face. He took a few nervous looks around the room and saw Tony getting dressed. Tony heard Jeff's mattress squeak and looked over, seeing him in an upright position. "Good morning, or I guess afternoon. It's about twelve already," Tony smiled but then soon noticed Jeff's uneasy face. "What's wrong, man? Bad dream?"

Jeff shook himself out of a trance and gazed at Tony standing shirtless in his slacks. "Yeah…just a bad dream. I heard a girl talking to me, and…it sounded so real, like she was right beside me. My mind was just a wall of blackness the whole time."

"And you accused _me_ of trying Bill's secret herbs," Tony laughed.

Jeff returned a laugh, still feeling perturbed. "I feel so drained, man." Jeff pushed his hands against his forehead. "It's like that dream gave me a headache."

"I'll go grab you some pain killers from the medicine cabinet," Tony said as he walked into the dorm bathroom. He came back out with a couple pills and a glass of water and handed them to Jeff, who downed the glass of water ravenously.

Tony chuckled at Jeff's rapid intake of the water and pills. "You want me to go downstairs and get you some ice packs?"

Jeff nodded, and Tony headed out. Jeff lied down on his side and stared at the wall, trying to cope with his pain. It wasn't a normal headache, but it wasn't as severe as a migraine or aneurism. To him, it felt as if somebody had sent strong waves of energy through his brain. He shut his eyes and waited for Tony to return.

Tony came back a few minutes later carrying a rubber ice pack and put it gently on Jeff's head. "So, are you excited for the dance tonight? From what I hear, it sounds like you actually have a reason to go this time," Tony smiled.

"If my head gets better, I will. I promised Maddi that I'd go with her, so even if it persists, I'll still make an _effort_ to go, at least," Jeff replied, groaning a bit.

Tony sat next to Jeff on the bed. "Well, even if it doesn't, I'm sure you two can make some other plans together. You've always got me, too, Jeff. Don't' forget about dear ol' Tony."

Tony enjoyed caring for Jeff when he was ill; it made him feel closer to Jeff. He doubted that they would ever be closer than being just friends, however. With Madison now in the mix, he was certain that it would make coming clean even more difficult, and that Jeff probably would not have the same sentiments as him.

An hour had passed, and Jeff's head problems had subsided. It was around one thirty when he finally left bed and washed up. He put on a fresh pair of pants, as the pair from the night before had been drenched in melting snow and grime. He noticed that his glasses had been cleaned since the previous night, most likely by Tony; Tony always would clean Jeff's glasses, even if they had only a slight smear on them.  
"Hey, did you clean my glasses?" Jeff asked, turning from the bathroom sink to Tony straightening his tie.

"Yep, sure did. I can't let you go walking around with all that protoplasm and junk on them," Tony laughed.

Jeff smiled, nodding in appreciation. "I'm going next door to see Maddi. I thought that maybe we could hang out for a bit before the dance, you know, sweeten things up a bit."

"Oooo, Jeff, you lady killer," Tony teased. Tony had to try his best to conceal his envy and slight dejection towards Jeff's new relationship. Jeff hadn't ever had any real sort of connection with anyone on a romantic level before, but now that he was just beginning to, Tony was finding himself a bit jealous. "Don't be gone for too long and miss the dance, huh?"

Jeff reassured Tony and left, walking the couple feet over to Madison's door. Jeff gave a couple knocks and waited until the door opened a couple minutes later.

"Hey, you!" Madison said upon seeing Jeff, giving him a hug. Madison scanned Jeff's face and saw dark circles under his eyes. "Didn't sleep too well? Can't say I did either," She joked.

"I sure didn't; I had the weirdest dream last night." Jeff sighed. "Here, I'll tell you all about it later. But first, I came over to see if you wanted to take a walk with me out past the shop."

"That would be great," Madison beamed. Since the previous night, Madison was thrilled about the idea of spending more time with Jeff. Now that things were out in the open, she wouldn't hold back from embracing him, either.

The two went down the stairs and exited through the school's front entrance. They began strolling through the nearby path of large pine trees. The weather was quite calm for a typical day in Winters; the wind and snow had ceased, and the sun was shining fairly bright. It was still rather cold, however, as it always was.

"So, you said something about a dream you had?" Madison asked, lifting her eyes towards Jeff's.

"Yeah, the dream…" Jeff began. "It was very different; not exactly a nightmare or anything, but it still gave me an unsettling feeling after waking up. Mostly in my head, anyways. Felt like somebody stuck it in a microwave."

Madison laughed. "Go on."

"Well, the dream itself was nothing more than a black wall in my mind, absolutely no images. I heard a girl talking, almost as clearly as if she had been talking right into my ear at my bedside. She asked for help, sounding very forlorn." Jeff rubbed his forehead. "Now that I think about it, I seem to remember her referring to herself by name. She said her name was Paula."

Madison got a curious look on her face. "Paula? Like Paula from Polestar Preschool in Twoson?"

"Polestar Preschool?" Jeff responded, confused.

"Yeah, there's a town in Eagleland called Twoson, and in Twoson there's a preschool called Polestar. The teacher had a daughter named Paula, and she'd help out a lot around the place." Madison explained.

"Do you know her?" Jeff asked inquisitively.

Madison shook her head uncertainly. "Sort of. I mean, yeah, I _knew _her, but we weren't really friends or anything. Before I got sent to Snow Wood, I used to live in Twoson with my mom. Paula went to the same high school as me, and we had some classes together. She seemed like a pretty nice girl, and she always had guys after her."

"I see," Jeff held his hand against his chin. "It's probably just a coincidence. I mean, she'd have to be a_ psychic_ or something to talk to me in my dreams," Jeff chuckled.

Madison returned the laugh. The couple continued walking through the pathway between the pines, the air becoming slowly colder. Jeff noticed Madison begin to shiver a little, and he seized it as an opportunity to wrap his arm around her. She followed up, grabbing Jeff's hand. For once in Jeff's life, he was feeling in love. A minute or so passed, and Jeff posed a question. "So, you said you lived in Twoson before you came here?"

"Yep, all my life. It was a pretty nice town, and it had just enough of everything. There was this one place called Burglin Park, where tons of vendors would lay down tables and blankets and sell cool stuff. I bought an awesome copper bracelet from this one Jamaican dude once, and I still have it to this day," Madison said, reminiscing.

"How'd you end up here, anyways?" Jeff asked, interested.

Madison's expression became slightly disheartened. Jeff took notice. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I didn't mean to bring up anything-"

"No, it' fine," Madison interrupted, reassuring Jeff. "Well, I'm here now because my mom left Twoson and went to a big city to the east of it, Fourside is its name; she was hired by the theater there to sing. Before, she used to perform at the Chaos Theater in Twoson, but the owner found some other band and cancelled her contract."

"So, your mom had to move?"

"Yep. She had no other way to make ends meet, so she had to leave Twoson behind. That also meant leaving me behind, though; she couldn't afford an apartment in Fourside, and as a result, had to rely on housing provided by the theater. They wouldn't allow anybody but the performers to stay in their rooms, so my mom decided to send me here using performance money because she had no other options. Putting me in this school was cheaper than rent, she said."

Jeff became puzzled. "And that's it? She just sent you away?"

Madison's eyes started to fill with tears. "That's it. I could tell that she didn't want to, but she was offered a contract that she couldn't refuse. And, well…ever since she got to Fourisde, she…changed. She just started thinking only of herself, and barely had the sense to care for me. She thought that I would've been better off here anyways, so that's why she did it." Madison wiped her eyes. "I don't know what it is, Jeff, but…that city… it just changes people. There's something terribly wrong there; even the mayor has gone from being a passionate, caring man to a greedy cutthroat."

Jeff pulled Madison in closer. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, Maddi; I had no idea."

"Don't worry about it," she said, tightening her grip on Jeff. "It feels good to talk about it with somebody."

Jeff was still curious about one thing. "Hey Madison." She looked up at him. "Who is your mom, anyways? Maybe I've heard her on the radio."

Madison fixed her gaze on the snowy road ahead of them. "Venus is her stage name, if that's what you mean."

* * *

It was around four when Jeff and Madison returned from their walk. The dance would be coming up in the next couple hours, so Jeff made sure to rest a bit before it started so that he'd have enough energy. He opened his dorm door and threw himself under the bed covers. He saw that Tony wasn't in the room.

_He must already be setting up stuff. I can't believe that he actually _enjoys doing _that junk__, _Jeff thought as he slipped into sleep. After what seemed what only seconds later, Jeff was visited again in his dreams.

_Jeff…you are a friend that I have not met…I am Paula…_

Jeff convulsed in his sleep with accompanying grunts and groans.

_ Please, head south, south towards Stonehenge…_

Jeff gripped tightly around his sheets, stretching his legs and pushing against the frame on the edge of the bed.

_Ness and I are locked in a room below Threed Cemetery…please wake up, Jeff!_

Jeff sprang awake and hit his head against the wall, limply falling onto the floor. He rapidly took in the room like he had the first time and saw the time on the clock: six thirty.

_Crap, the dance is in half an hour! _

Jeff scrambled up from the floor and ran to the bathroom. Quickly and hastily, he brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and put on his glasses.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Tony came in. He noticed that Jeff was rushing to prepare for the dance. "Hey man, what gives? Why'd you just start getting ready now?"

Jeff ignored Tony, now throwing on his fancy class uniform that he had purchased in case of any school events.

"Jeff!" Tony shouted, trying to get his attention.

Jeff momentarily stopped getting dressed and looked up at Tony. "What is it?" He asked, almost instantly snapping back to his preparation.

Tony's eyes moved back and forth as he watched Jeff ripping clothes from hangers and yanking out drawers. "I just came to see if you were still here, and apparently you are. The dance is in less than half an hour, dude. How long did you sleep for?"

"I think for two and a half hours, maybe?" Jeff said, tying his dress shoes.

Tony's eyes widened. _"Two and a half hours?_ Jeeze, did you run a marathon while you were out?"

Jeff disregarded the comment. "I don't know what happened. I remember going to bed around three forty five, and then…oh yeah…I had another weird dream," Jeff finished getting dressed and sat on the bed, a blank stare coming over his face. "I was in such a rush that I forgot about it already…"

"Well, what was it? Not another creepy mind-stalker girl talking to you again, huh?" Tony joked.

Jeff didn't find any humor in his words, however, as he was still very tense. "Yes, that's right. This time, she mentioned something about a cemetery and finesse."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Alright, well there's no time for your wacky nightmares right now; we've gotta get to the dance!"

Tony pulled Jeff from the bed and walked with him to the door. "Wait," Jeff started as he stopped in his tracks."Is Madison there already?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, she just got there when I left to come find you. You'd better hope she doesn't think you ditched her."

Jeff and Tony skipped down the stairs and made for the large ballroom in the center of the school. They arrived shortly, and Jeff noticed the decorations. Everything was decorated in a dark blue color, with the lights low and dimly shading over it. The whole room was fairly dark with a calm, relaxed atmosphere.

"Wow, you guys really did a good job," Jeff commented.

"Thanks!" Tony smiled. "I'm gonna be over by the drink counter, serving people, if you need me. Now, you go find Madison, lover boy."

Tony smacked Jeff on the back, jogged over to the counter, and began filling cups with refreshments. Jeff stood in a daze and had to shake himself awake some seconds later. He took a panoramic view of the ballroom, looking for Madison. He first saw Bill and Rayleigh standing near the back of the room, doing simple box steps with their dates. He kept scanning and eventually saw Madison at the seating area, dressed in a navy blue dress with a bow of the same color in her hair. Jeff began walking towards her and waved. Madison smiled in relief and waved back.

"Where have you been, Jeff? I was starting to think you weren't coming," Madison joked with a touch of honesty.

"After we took our walk, I decided that I'd take a quick hour-long nap before the dance so that I could reenergize and still have enough time to prepare, but, as you see," Jeff shrugged his arms, "that didn't happen. I accidentally slept in until like six thirty, and, on top of it, had another weird dream."

Madison grew interested. "What was it this time?"

Jeff scratched his head. "I seem to remember something about a 'three' cemetery, and to head south towards Stonehenge."

"Maybe it was 'Threed' Cemetery?" Madison speculated.

"What's Threed?" Jeff asked curiously, wondering if maybe Madison knew anything about such a place.

Madison filled Jeff in with what little she knew about the place herself. "It's a town east of Twoson and west of Fourside. All I know is that it's been having a bit of trouble in its tunnels, like something's keeping people from entering and leaving the town. Not so sure what that's all about, though."

Jeff thought about it for a moment. "The voice also mentioned Stonehenge. I'm not so sure as to what's down there that would be worth traveling to, really. Well, aside from architectural admiration, I suppose."

"Maybe Maxwell would know," Madison suggested.

"That might be a good idea, actually. I'll ask him about it," Jeff concluded. "This whole dream thing is so strange; I feel like maybe it's _more_ than just what it seems."

"Maybe we could take a trip down there together sometime to check things out," Madison proposed. "I mean, we _were _able to make it across the lake yesterday, right? I don't think that going to Stonehenge would be much further."

"I think that would be great," Jeff smiled. He lightly grabbed Madison's hand. "Would you like to dance now? I'm sure it'd be way more fun than standing hear and listening to me yak."

Madison smiled. "Yeah, let's dance."

The couple walked over towards the main floor in the center of the room, where other couples had already begun dancing. Jeff turned to face Madison, put one arm around her back, and took her hand in his. They started off by doing the same simple box steps that everybody else was doing. Nobody at the school _really _knew how to dance, so the students would typically just waver back and forth while talking.

"You look really nice tonight, by the way," Jeff complimented.

Madison blushed intensely. "Thanks, Jeff. You look great, too. Well, as great as half an hour of preparation can get you. Just kidding," She teased, giggling.

Jeff smiled and took in the girl standing in front of him. _This feels so unreal, _Jeff thought. _I actually found somebody that I can connect with, somebody that I can…love. _

Jeff and Madison continued dancing together, holding each other fairly close. After a minute or two of silence, Madison leaned up and kissed Jeff quickly, pulling back away and looking him in the eyes. Glowing, Jeff leaned down and gave a long, reciprocating kiss.

Across the room stood Bill and Rayleigh, waiting for their dates to return from the restroom. Rayleigh cocked his head in Jeff's direction. "Is that Jeff? And Madison?"

Bill moved his head over to see Jeff dancing with Madison. "That sure looks like them. I never knew they were a thing."

"I think that, since last night, they've become more than just friends. From what Tony tells me, anyways," Rayleigh added.

* * *

It was about ten now, and the dance was ending. Students were filling the halls, returning to their dorms for the night. Jeff and Madison lingered behind for a bit to avoid the traffic.

"Well," Jeff said, looking around the near-empty room, "I guess that's all? I want to let you know that I had a great time-"

"It doesn't _have _to end, you know," Madison interrupted, smiling. "How about we head back to my dorm? Nobody else'll be there."

Jeff was surprised by the invitation, but very ready to take the offer. "That beats sitting around in mine and waiting for Tony to show up," Jeff laughed. "Sounds like a plan." _Time to split the atom._

The couple left the ballroom in a giddy, anxious hurry. Most of the other students had already gone back upstairs for the night, so Jeff and Madison were able to avoid the clutter. Madison was briskly walking slightly ahead of Jeff, holding his head as if she was dragging him behind her.

There was a rapid _ch-chunk _sound as Madison opened up the door to her room. She flung the key onto a nearby table and gently motioned for Jeff to follow her inside. Jeff shut the door behind him and took a look around. The room was relatively bare, save for a bed, an armoire, and the aforementioned desk. Jeff noticed that there were some boxes off in the corner, presumably unpacked since she had arrived, that were labeled as "decorations". Jeff chuckled to himself. _This place sure could use some._

Movement took Jeff out of his trance, and he saw that Madison was lying on her bed, now having taken off her dress and replaced it with light nightwear. She looked over at Jeff still standing by the table. "Don't be shy, now," she smiled seductively as she made a "come hither" motion.

Seeing that Madison was dressed skimpily, Jeff decided to remove his blazer, unbutton his shirt a bit, and take off his slacks. Jeff slowly made his way over, positioning himself above her softly as he climbed onto the bed. Madison put a hand around Jeff's head and put the opposite around his hips. Jeff slid one hand underneath Madison's head, leaving the other stretched out and pressing against the mattress. They began kissing for a couple minutes before Madison pulled away. "You'll have to forgive me if I seem a little…inexperienced," she said, breathing heavily.

"I wouldn't know the difference, really," Jeff joked, eliciting a quiet laugh from Madison. They continued kissing once again for another couple minutes. It was then that Madison grabbed Jeff by the sides and flipped him over so that she was on top of him. She looked at Jeff with an alluring smile as she carefully and almost painfully slowly unbuttoned her blouse. "I want to thank you for these past few weeks, Jeff, sticking up for me and all that," she stopped to put Jeff's hands against her chest. Jeff was becoming more and more shocked by the second; he wouldn't have thought in a million years that tonight would end with something like this.

Madison continued. "And…for one of the greatest nights of my life-"

She was interrupted by Tony, unsuspectingly opening the unlocked door. "Hey, have you seen Jeff any-" Tony stopped talking as he saw Madison roll off of Jeff and cover up. "Aw crap, sorry sorry sorry!" he apologized profusely. Jeff covered up as well, as he didn't want Tony to see the stiffness in his boxers. Tony made brief eye contact with Jeff, who was staring daggers at him. Tony stammered a bit and swiftly shut the door, walking back into his room embarrassed.

Madison began redressing. "Well…maybe it's best that we wait a bit? I mean, if you wouldn't mind. I don't like the idea of anyone knowing what we're up to." she said sheepishly.

Jeff nodded. "It's fine. Sorry about Tony. He's…well…he just worries about me too much."

Madison shook her head understandingly as Jeff began to put on his blazer and slacks. He looked over at Madison sitting in her chair, a disconcerted look on her face. He sauntered over to her and placed his hand over hers. "Don't feel ashamed. If it makes you feel any better, I think Tony was too busy rambling and stuttering to see anything."

Madison formed a smile and giggled. She glanced up at Jeff standing next to her. "Well," she began, "I guess you should get going and check up on that peeping tom of yours."

Jeff returned a grin. "I suppose I should."

Madison gazed up at Jeff with the same affectionate eyes as the night before, leaned up, and kissed him one last time before they exchanged "goodbyes".

Jeff quietly slipped into his room, seeing that Tony had already fallen asleep on his bed. If there was one thing about Tony that Jeff envied, it was his ability to practically fall asleep on command. _Well, _Jeff thought as he glanced over at Tony's unconscious body, _I guess the next stream of apologies will have to wait until tomorrow to flow out. _

Jeff went into the bathroom, washed himself up, and put on his wool gown. He took a few yawns as he moseyed towards his bed. As he slid under the covers and prepared for what would likely be a long time lying in bed before actually sleeping, he only had one thing on his mind: the dreams.

_I better not be interrupted this time, _Jeff thought as he turned off his bedside lamp, rolling his eyes. _I never thought I'd be losing sleep over a girl before...well, this way, at least._


	3. The Ultimate

_Jeff, you have to come to Threed Cemetery! Please, head south! We beg you!_

Jeff gritted his teeth and stiffened his muscles as he moaned, flailing and thrashing around in his bed. Unlike in his other dreams, he was able to see an image: a small, underground room with a moist, dirt floor. There was a single steel door with countless gashes and dents, which made it appear as if somebody was locked inside and tried to leave forcefully, but to no avail.

_We don't have much time! You MUST wake up, Jeff! Wake…UP!_

Jeff felt what seemed to be a damp mist waft around his body. Shrill cries came from somewhere above the room, and he could hear the sound of somebody running, likely being chased. He thought he heard some voices above ground, talking about a factory by some waterfalls and someone named Belch. They referred to him as their master and laughed as they mumbled about finally getting rid of two "problems". Their piercing cackles shook throughout Jeff's head, stinging his eardrums.

_This is our final plea, Jeff. Only you can save us! Save us, and save the WORLD!_

A shelf that hung on the wall between tony and Jeff's beds slammed to the floor, cracking in half upon impact with the floor. As soon as it finished its fall, the large window in the dorm flew open and let in a harsh wind. At the end of this, Jeff's bedside lamp flickered on.

Jeff jolted up in his bed, overwhelmed by the dream and chaos in the dorm. He rapidly scanned the area, seeing the fallen shelf and open window, curtains blowing around lightly. He looked over at Tony still sound asleep in his bed. Jeff tried to get up from bed, but his legs were too weak to support him. He stumbled from bed onto the floor and noticed the clock on the wall, which revealed the time to be around four thirty in the morning. Upon hearing Jeff's body tumble onto the floor, Tony lazily lifted himself from the bed and shivered, becoming aware of the wind from the open lattice.

"Ugh…Jeff? What's…what's going on?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. "You can't keep having these episodes, man."

Jeff regained the use of his legs and rushed to the closet, throwing on his usual Snow Wood outfit. He laced up his shoes, buttoned his shirt, and glanced over at the open window, which he closed a few seconds later.

"What the hell happened?" Tony questioned, noticing the broken shelf and Jeff getting dressed.

"I have to go to Stonehenge. I'm leaving tonight," Jeff stated flatly, without emotion.

"_Stonehenge? _Are you crazy? Right _now, _too? It's like four in the morning!" Tony nearly yelled with concern. "Why?"

"I was actually there this time, "Jeff started, a serious expression engulfing his face. "I was in the same room as that girl from the dreams. I saw it…I _felt _it, damn it! It's real!"

"So, you were in a room this time. And now you're going on some wild goose chase to Stonehenge because…?" Tony moved his hand in a circling motion, speaking with a confused and somewhat agitated tone.

Jeff lifted his face towards Tony after he finished dressing; he had a grave look on his face that Tony had never seen before. "Because it's my responsibility to help her. This isn't just some wild goose chase or arbitrary series of strange nightmares; this is something huge."

Tony's face grew worried. "Jeff, you can't just up and leave. I don't know what's _really_ happening here, but you can't possibly believe it."

Although Jeff said nothing in response, his face answered for him. Tony sighed. "Okay. You want to get to Stonehenge. _But," _he paused, "you'll never get there alone. I'll come with you, all right?"

Jeff shook his head in disapproval. "No. I have to go alone. If you really want to, you can help me by giving me a boost over the fence when the time comes. Tony…" he respired, "I'm sorry. I know you would like to come with me, but in my gut, I know I must go alone."

Tony frowned and nodded understandingly. "Jeff…I'll do whatever I can to help. Now, let's go see if Maxwell is in his lab; he might know something useful about your destination-"

"You go check on Maxwell. I have to go see Madison," Jeff interrupted. Tony replied with a series of "uh"s and finally agreed. He opened the door and hurried downstairs, leaving Jeff on his own.

Jeff walked outside his room and knocked lightly on Madison's door. The sound of sluggish steps slowly reaching the door leaked under the door, which opened a few moments later to reveal a disheveled Madison. "Jeff? It's like four…what's going on?"

"Madison, I don't know how to say this, but…I'm leaving. I don't know how long I'll be gone for, or where exactly I'm going, but I have to leave. Before I do, though…I want to say goodbye."

Looks of confusion and sadness took over Madison's face. "You're…leaving? You mean, for good? I don't understand…"

"Not forever. I'll be gone for a while I'm sure, but not forever. I just wanted to stop by and-"

Jeff was cut short by Madison desperately grabbing and kissing him. She pulled back for a moment to get her thoughts out. "I want to go with you, Jeff. If you leave, there'll be nothing left for me here."

Jeff became disheartened. "I…have to go alone. I was visited again in my dreams, and this time, I _saw _where the girl was. I heard her captors and felt her suffering. I know that, in my heart, I have to make this journey alone and rescue her and her friend."

Tears built up in Madison's eyes. "Are you sure?"

"I'm certain. But, until I leave the school…I want you to stick around and help me prepare. Tony already went down to the lab to ask Maxwell for some insight about Stonehenge, and now I'm going to go Rayleigh and Bill's room to say my goodbyes. As long as I'm still at this school, I want to spend every second with you. Come with me." Jeff grabbed Madison's hand and leaned in, gently kissing her and feeling her against him for what would feel like the last time. Pulling away, he stared into her eyes and spoke. "Let's go."

* * *

Tony frantically knocked on the lab door, hoping that Maxwell would be inside. To his relief, it opened. "Tony? What are you doing here at this hour?" Maxwell asked, holding a beaker full of glowing liquid in one hand.

"It's Jeff. He's…well…he wants to leave and go to Stonehenge. Right now, actually. He wanted me to ask you about the area surrounding it," Tony explained.

Maxwell's face took on a completely new look, almost a combination of worriedness and revelation. "Jeff wants to go to Stonehenge? How did this come about?"

"He's been having dreams lately, really strange stuff where a girl is talking to him and saying his name along with pleas. In one she mentioned going to Stonehenge," Tony told Maxwell.

Maxwell hesitated for a bit. "I guess it's time. Bring Jeff down here, and I'll talk to him. But, when he comes, I want him to be alone."

* * *

Jeff walked a couple doors over to Bill and Rayleigh's room and knocked softly. A voice from inside answered. "Go away damn it. Don't you know what time it is?"

"Bill, it's Jeff. Open up. Now," Jeff replied sternly.

Bill groaned and stumbled over to the door, opening it with slight frustration. "Yeah, what is it?" Bill asked, soon noticing Madison standing by Jeff. "How come you two are up so late?"

"I'm leaving Snow Wood for a while, and I wanted to tell you and Rayleigh. I don't know how long I'll be gone for, but you can expect me to be away for probably a few weeks, maybe even longer," Jeff said firmly.

Bill's head shifted back involuntarily at Jeff's words. "You're _what? _You're leaving Snow Wood? Why? What's happening?"

"For the past couple of days, I've been having these dreams. They've been pleas for help from a girl and her friend. Tonight, I woke from the most vivid of them all, and I can say that they're more than just dreams; they're a reality. I have to go to Stonehenge and eventually make my way to Eagleland. Whatever's at Stonehenge is very important in my journey, so I'm going there as soon as possible," Jeff explained.

"This is crazy talk; you realize that, right-"

Jeff spoke before letting Bill finish. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm expecting everyone to say tonight. But, you know what? I don't care. None of you have to believe me. Just know that I'm going. Bill, you've been a great friend, and that goes for Rayleigh, too," Jeff looked over Bill's shoulder to see Rayleigh in bed. Around his bed were wrapped presents for Tony's birthday, which Jeff had actually forgotten was the following day. _I gotta remember to say 'happy birthday' before_ _I head out._

"What about school? You're just going to drop out in the middle of the semester?" Bill asked, trying to find something to make Jeff think twice.

Jeff spoke confidently without any conflicting thoughts in his mind."I've thought about that. You're right there; what exactly _am_ I going to do? Well, I figure that I'll just take classes over the summer. I won't be gone longer than one semester, so I can afford to do that. _Or, _Maxwell might even let me just do some reports and essays to make up for what I miss instead. Hell, he's aware that I already know more than we'll ever learn in class, so I'm not worried about missing material. I'm not going to worry about the future; I just need to concentrate on what's going on _now."_

Bill silently looked at Jeff, trying to find any doubt or uncertainty in his countenance, but found none. "All right," he sighed, "I can see you're pretty serious about this. Just...don't get caught sneaking out, okay?"

Jeff nodded. "Give Rayleigh my regards. I'd rather not wake him right now and have to retell everything else that I've just told you," Jeff said, almost smiling.

Bill smiled back. "I'll let him know tomorrow. As long as you're still here," he started,"do you want me to help with anything?"

"I think I'll be fine, but thanks for offering. Now go and get some sleep, man," Jeff said, hugging Bill before leaving him to go back inside his room.

As the door shut, Jeff and Madison turned to the sound of somebody running up the stairs; they saw that it was Tony.

"Guys, wait up!" Tony half-yelled across the hall.

"Keep it down, Tony! We don't wanna wake up the whole school," Jeff whispered loudly.

Tony apologized quietly and approached him and Madison. "Maxwell wants to speak with you personally in his lab."

Jeff shook his head "yes". "Okay. Let's go."

The three kids descended the stairs to the bottom floor and walked into Maxwell's lab. When Maxwell saw Tony and Madison behind Jeff, he spoke up. "I'd like to speak with Jeff alone, please. I'm sorry guys. Here, take this key and go take some stuff from the lockers and bring it back to me in the meantime." Maxwell tossed a bent key over to Tony. "I had to put locks on them since last night; somebody got into them a couple nights ago."

Tony and Madison left Jeff in the lab and went into the storage room. Maxwell motioned for Jeff to take a seat as Maxwell did the same. "Jeff, there's something I've never told you before. But, now...I think you should know. Long ago, when your father left you here, he mentioned something about you having visions in the future as you aged, and in those visions, you'd hear about Stonehenge," he paused for a second to gather his thoughts. "He said that, whenever you ended up having those visions, that'd you'd need to come to his lab right away. Now, here's what I've never told you about your dad or where his lab is. Although, being the bright young man you are, I'm sure you already have figured it out."

Jeff slowly nodded, a far away look in his eyes. "Dad lives in a lab by Stonehenge. But, why would I need to find dad? What does he know about all of this?"

"I'm not sure, Jeff. He didn't say _why _you needed to come; he just urged me to tell you whenever you began to have certain 'dreams'," Maxwell replied honestly. "But you must head there, Jeff." Maxwell observed Jeff's serious, determined expression.

"Maxwell?" Jeff noticed that Maxwell was staring at him.

Maxwell shook himself and spoke. "Sorry, it's just...you have the same exact look your father had all those years ago. That tenacious, steadfast gleam in your eyes...he had it, too."

Tony and Madison walked back into the lab. Tony raised the bent key and looked over at Maxwell. "The key doesn't work; we tried it on every locker, but it just got stuck."

Maxwell put his hand against his chin. "I was afraid of that. Hold on; let me get you something else," Maxwell said, going over to his desk and pulling out a steel mechanism with a unique-looking skeleton key attached to it. "This is the bad key machine. It can openly practically any lock there is. Sorry about the inconvenience," he said, handing the machine over to Tony. Tony examined it and nodded "thanks", once again going with Madison to the lockers.

"So," Maxwell continued, "you're going to have to go to Stonehenge and find out for yourself what lies ahead of you. You're a strong boy, Jeff. I know you'll find what you're looking for."

"Thanks, Maxwell. I've always thought you were a great teacher, and...well...you've been like a father to me. I'll never forget all the times you've been there for me," Jeff said, standing up from his seat. Jeff extended his hand to Maxwell. The two scientists shook hand and said their goodbyes.

Jeff left the lab and went to the lockers, where he saw Madison and Tony about to come out. They were holding the air gun and popgun from before, a Holmes hat, and a big bottle rocket. Jeff put on the hat and stuck the popgun and bottle rocket in his slacks. He took a look at the air gun, which appeared to have broken since the last time Jeff used it. It wasn't a major problem, but Jeff wouldn't have time to fix it right away. He put it in his slacks as well and left the storage room with his friends. After Jeff finished gathering the supplies, Tony handed him the bad key machine. "You never know, man."

They walked out the entrance of the school and stood at the black gates. The snow was falling gently, a strong wind ripping apart the air.

"Tony, I'll need you to give me a boost," Jeff said, looking at the gates. Tony complied and helped to push Jeff over the fence. Once on the other side, Jeff was ready to say his final goodbyes.

"Tony," Jeff began, "thank you for being the best friend a guy could ask for. I'm sorry that I couldn't stick around for your party, but I hope that you can enjoy it without me," Jeff said. "Tony...I'll keep you in my mind always."

A sad smiled crept over Tony. _Wow...he actually remembered._ "And I'll keep you in mine, Jeff. Please take care of yourself, all right?" _  
_

Jeff nodded and then directed his attention over to Madison. "Maddi...I'm so glad that we were able to spend some time together. You brought out emotions in me that I didn't even know existed before I met you."

Jeff put his hand through the gate and laced his fingers in Madison's. She gripped him tightly, staring into his deep-blue eyes. "Jeff...you're the best thing that's happened to me in years. I'll be waiting for you. Just don't get hurt out there...please."

Jeff felt a knot form in his throat. "Madison...I'm going to miss you so much," Jeff choked out, a tear falling down his cheek.

Madison used her free hand to grab Jeff's other hand, gripping it as tightly as the other. "I...love you, Jeff. I really do." Tears started streaming down her face as she sniffled.

Jeff's lips quivered. "I love you so much too, Maddi. You'll be in my heart. Always." Jeff wanted this moment to last forever, but knew that he had a journey to carry out. He slowly released Madison's hands. His eyes took in both his best friend and his partner standing before him. "Goodbye, guys. I'll be back. I promise."

Madison and Tony said heartfelt, emotional goodbyes. Jeff slowly turned opposite of the school and began walking south. Madison started crying softly and walked back into the school while Tony remained at the gate, holding the black iron bars in his hands. _Jeff...I love you, too._

* * *

Jeff walked towards the Tessie camp, looking for the tent with the boat. After some minutes of searching, he found the tent, but not the boats. He went over to the tent and poked his head inside. "Sorry to bother you," Jeff said, seeing the same man as before cooking stew yet again. "Maybe you remember me. I'm the kid you lent the boat to a couple days back. I was wondering if I could borrow it again, but I didn't notice it behind your tent."

The man stopped stirring his stew and spoke. "Yeah, I remember you. You seemed like a pretty nice kid. About the boat, well, I was just renting it. I returned it to the shop by the school yesterday. If you need a boat, go check one out from them."

Jeff expressed his appreciation and pulled himself out of the tent. He walked back north and reached the shop, which appeared to have just opened. It was now around five thirty in the morning, and the sun was slowly making it's way up in the horizon.

Jeff opened the door and was greeted by the rookie employee. "Hello, sir! May I help you?"

"Do you happen to have any boats left to rent?"Jeff asked.

The man shook his head affirmatively. "Yep! We have a couple left. They both run for twenty dollars an hour."

Jeff reached in his pockets and felt around for money. He pulled out a couple of dollar bills, but not enough for rental. _I guess I'm not going across by boat, _he thought. "It looks like I'll have to pass on this one."

"Hey, you by the door! Come over here!"

Jeff turned to see a blonde woman standing in the back of the store with the same monkey before. Upon taking a closer look at Jeff, the woman's face turned sour. "Oh, it's you. Never mind."

"Wait a minute. I might be willing to buy that monkey of yours." Jeff spoke up. He remembered Tony saying something about the monkey helping him cross the lake, so he thought he'd give it a shot, although it was a somewhat crazy idea. But, Jeff was desperate, and in need of something to help him get across. _Maybe he'll even get Tessie to let me hitch a ride on its back, _he thought sarcastically.

"If you want him, it'll be twenty dollars," the woman smiled vindictively.

Jeff grew confused and annoyed. "Twenty dollars? My friend only paid two for him last time!"

"Those are the breaks, kid. Now, if you don't have the money-"

The monkey walked away from the woman and went over to Jeff. He had a pack of gum in his hand and pulled a piece out to chew. "Get back over here, you stupid ape!"the woman yelled.

The monkey stared at her blankly for a moment before removing the gum from his mouth and throwing it at her face. While the woman cursed and fumbled around, Jeff put the two dollars he had on the cashier's table. "Give this to that woman," he told the rookie. "And tell her to choke on it."

Jeff turned with the monkey and headed out the door. The sun had come out more since going in the shop, and the wind died down considerably.

Jeff walked back down to the encampment, the Tessie watchers now out of their tents and armed with their binoculars and cameras, waiting for any signs of movement in the lake. He heard some grumbling and cursing come from a couple itchy-fingered watchers, accidentally taking pictures of the ground or the sky. Jeff made his way to the water's edge, looking across to the other side. _Now, how the hell am I getting there?_

Out of nowhere, the sound of something falling to the snowy ground in a whirling motion passed through Jeff's ears. He began to turn around when he was instantly blinded by a flash. Jeff stumbled to the ground, violently rubbing his eyes. In the confusion, he thought he heard somebody speaking to him, but he couldn't quite make out what the person was saying. Then, as quickly as it began, the sound of spinning came once again, but this time appearing to ascend into the sky.

A minute passed and Jeff regained his vision. The first thing he noticed was the monkey standing in front of him, blowing a bubble with his gum. Jeff looked up at him as he turned around towards Jeff. The monkey gave a look that almost seemed like he was saying, "I'll take care of this." Only seconds later, the wind began blowing furiously, dragging leaves through the air. Jeff fixed his eyes on a spot in the lake where a slight current was forming. What Jeff saw next would be the most stunning and unbelievable sight that he had seen yet.

A giant, purple monster slowly rose from the lake, causing the water the splash angrily against the shore. Jeff couldn't believe his eyes. It had to be at least ten stories high, and had a long, stretching neck. The beast didn't seem fierce, however; it looked rather calm and gentle. Jeff flicked his gaze back to the monkey, who was now stepping onto Tessie's back. The monkey waved for Jeff to join him, but Jeff was still completely in shock. He eventually shook himself out of the trance he was in, and cautiously climbed onto the monster's back. Tessie now turned around and started casually swimming to the other side of the lake. Jeff watched the encampment fill with awe-struck watchers as he drifted away with ease.

The massive creature stopped at the snowy bank opposite the tents, allowing Jeff and his furry friend to disembark. Jeff watched in astonishment as Tessie sunk back into the lake. _Well, now that crossing the lake has been taken care of, _Jeff thought, _I guess it's time to pay Brick Road another visit._

Jeff found his way to the maze entrance and entered, having no trouble getting though. He soon approached the exit of the cave, which had a new present box nearby that hadn't been there the previous time Jeff came. He opened it up, and smiled upon seeing what was inside: a shiny, metallic stun gun. Jeff immediately put the new toy in through the loop in his belt, making an improvised holster. Jeff stepped outside and was greeted by the same, jovial face from before.

"Ah, you again! So, you just couldn't get enough of my genius, huh?" Brick Road joked. "I see you found my little present," he said, pointing at Jeff's new acquisition. "I figured you'd like it. It was just sitting around in my tool chest, and I had no use for it, so I thought a smart-looking kid like yourself might enjoy tinkering with it."

"Thanks, Brick Road. I don't believe I've actually properly introduced myself; I'm Jeff," Jeff said, extending his hand and shaking Brick Road's.

"Nice to meet you, kid. So, my joking aside, what _does _bring you out here?" Brick Road asked, cocking his head a little.

"It's kind of a long story. Essentially, I'm making my way to Stonehenge to find my father. Apparently, he and I need to have some father-son talk," Jeff replied.

Brick Road's face perked up with a slight look of curiosity and surprise. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about Dr. Andonuts, would you?"

Jeff nodded. "That's exactly who I'm talking about; he's my father."

"Well, ain't that a coincidence? I'm working with him on a really big project called 'Dungeon Man'; it's a giant maze, naturally! This one's different, though: instead of a regular ole' dungeon, it's a gigantic, controllable sculpture of a man with tons of little dungeons inside! It's really quite astounding..."

Jeff shook his head, mumbling a few "mhmm"s as Brick Road spoke; he was too busy thinking about the past few hours to pay attention. He was thinking about Madison, the ride with Tessie, and just now, remembering the strange flash that occurred before he met the beast. As Brick Road rambled, all Jeff heard was the word 'dungeon' for what seemed like a couple thousand instances.

Jeff interrupted Brick Road so that he could continue with his Journey. "I'm sorry Brick Road, it's all very interesting, but I should really get going."

"Fine, fine, I understand!" Brick Road responded meekly. "You've got a father to find!"

Jeff dismissed himself and walked over to the caves that Tony had gotten lost in a couple nights before. He noticed that the cave was nearly pitch-black and reached into his slacks for the flashlight that he left in his slacks since the last trip. As he clicked it on, he had a good look at the cave's interior. There were many stalactites littering the roof, dripping with slimy, thick liquids. Puddles filled with decaying moss and rotten mushrooms were spread out along the rocky, muddy floor. Jeff gagged as a revolting, musty odor sucker-punched him, and he covered his nose quickly with his shirt. _Damn, I don't remember _that _from last time._

Rapid movement and the sound of wet footsteps caught Jeff and the monkey's attention. Jeff shined his flashlight in the direction of the forthcoming noise, eyes keen on the area before him. He placed his free hand on the stun gun as the source of the clamor; it was a red mushroom about half of Jeff's size, with skinny legs in place of a stalk. Jeff stood completely awe-struck by the creature while the monkey simply stood, scratching his head.

Jeff watched as the mushroom made his way towards Jeff, although not in a straight motion. He assumed that it traveled by sound or could sense light, as it seemed to be moving around blindly. That, and he couldn't see eyes anywhere on it. As Jeff stood gawking, the mushroom took the opportunity to violently scatter spores all over him.

He stumbled back and fell flush against the hard cave wall. Realizing the mushroom's hostility, the monkey leaped on and began biting at the red toadstool's cap. The foe soon collapsed to the ground after sustaining quite a bit of damage and did not rise again. Jeff recovered from his fall and inspected the fallen creature. He cautiously and lightly kicked at it, wanting to be sure that it wouldn't be getting back up. After he was satisfied with what he saw, he scanned the area ahead of him and continued walking. As he walked, Jeff noticed the spores covering his jacket and brushed them off. Luckily for him, the spores had been scattered so erratically that none of them made any direct contact with his head.

The next section of the cave had ascending, plateau-like mounds. Jeff observed that some of them had ropes hanging down and made his way over to one to take a look. He stared pensively at the rope and decided to test its stability. Putting his old gym skills to the test, he started pulling himself up, panting after reaching the top. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a white box with a red ribbon wrapped around it, similar to the ones in Brick Road's maze. Jeff gazed at the box, a little confused. _Why would Brick Road put one of these all the way up here? Nobody'd ever find it. Well, other than me, apparently. _Upon opening the box, he found a cheap-looking, metallic bracelet. Jeff shrugged and equipped it. _Better than nothing._

The sound of rope snapping on the other side of the cave caught Jeff's attention. He cast his view on the monkey standing below a mound with a now-torn rope. The monkey made some annoyed grunts and rubbed his chin as he racked his mind for a possible solution. A few seconds later, a spark lit in the monkey's mind, and he turned to Jeff. He screeched and made chewing motions with his mouth, trying to convey to Jeff what he needed. It took Jeff only a couple moments to realize what it was that he was asking for, and he tossed down the pack of bubble gum to his furry friend. _What's he gonna do with_ this_?_

The monkey pulled out a piece of gum, chewed on it, and began blowing a bubble. Jeff watched, eyes widening as the monkey blew the biggest bubble he'd ever seen. Jeff found himself asking, _Just when is this thing gonna pop? _But, it didn't. The monkey blew it up larger than his head, and was slowly lifted from the ground to the top of the mound. Jeff's jaw fell agape. _God damn,_ d_oes he exhale helium? _

The brown primate took what remained of the rope and tossed it down, turning to Jeff and looking at him expectantly. Jeff shook his head "yes" reflexively and made his way down to the newly dropped rope. Jeff climbed up to the mound where the monkey was waiting, still impressed by the animal's feat. _Well, you got me, bubble monkey._ At this point, Jeff had seen enough oddities that day to not care about the how's and why's anymore.

Jeff reached the very top of the highest mound after making his way to the bubble monkey, and saw two cave exits. One appeared to lead out to a snowy area, and where the other lead he couldn't quite make out; something shiny was flashing and making it difficult for Jeff to see around it. When Jeff approached the glowing object, he felt very...uneasy. He took a couple steps back and almost had a feeling of intrusion, as if he wasn't supposed to be there. _T__his isn't my place...maybe it's someone else's...__  
_

He regressed and went along with his brown little companion out the other exit, feeling the damp air turn briskly icy as they left the cave. The moisture from the cave had made Jeff's hair wet, and now that he was back in the wind and cold snow, felt himself shivering bit. The first thing that Jeff noticed upon leaving the musty caverns was an enormous grouping of stone pillars: Stonehenge. Jeff stood analyzing the structure, now seeing in real life what he had only seen previously in textbooks and photos. Heavy, copious sheets of snow softly blanketed the tops of the pillars, occasionally being brushed off by the indifferent winds.

Jeff's admiration was cut short when his attention was drawn over to the bubble monkey darting away from him. Jeff looked in the direction of the primate's sprint and saw another monkey standing near a couple pine trees in the distance. This new ape had a feminine appearance, characterized primarily by a red bow that was tied through the fine hairs on her head. The bubble monkey walked up and stared her over with curiosity. Only a few moments later, the two monkeys scampered away together without any warning, skipping through the thick pines. Before Jeff could react, they were gone. Jeff shrugged his shoulders. _He can handle himself. I mean, I'd really like to avoid the risk of getting hypothermia and dying looking for him. _Jeff realized that he was a bit callous-sounding, but then he reminded himself that he had other, more important things to attend to at the time.

Jeff focused back on the edifice for a bit, inspecting it and moving around inside the circle that the stones formed. After some pacing, he came across a slightly raised patch of snow in the middle of the structure. Interests piqued, he kicked away the snow with his foot and found what seemed to be a cover to some sort of underground entrance. He lifted the round lid, revealing a ladder descending far below the earth. _Huh...is dad's lab...is it down here maybe? _Jeff thought. _He _did _say Stonehenge, after all. _

Jeff gingerly climbed down the long, rusty ladder. For an underground pit, the area was surprisingly well lit. Once he reached the bottom, he saw an unnatural cave entrance leading to a very illuminated and colorful, pathway. The road was rather thin, surrounded by thick, dark walls. Jeff observed the mash of purples, yellows, and greens leading off into the distance. _Whoever constructed this obviously didn't want to waste any time..._ Jeff laughed to himself, noticing how narrow the space between the walls was. He followed the path down some stairs, eventually meeting something blocking his path: a giant, iron eraser. ..._Really? Now it's the eraser, too? Who's _making_ these things? _Jeff thought to himself, perplexed at seeing another strange object obstructing his way. At this point, however, oddities had started to make less and less impact. Between Tessie, the bubble monkey's bubble lifts, the spore, and the mysterious flash, he was becoming accustomed to seeing absurdities. In only a day, his barrier between real and unreal crumbled.

Realizing that Dr. Andonut's lab wasn't inside the glowing tunnels, he resurfaced and exposed himself to the harsh winds. When he reached the top, he heard the same whirling down noise that he had heard back at the lake. Before Jeff could react quickly enough, another strong flash blinded him. This time, though, he made out a little of what the person was saying. "...pickles!...fondest of memories..." The spinning sound abruptly returned, and soon the stranger had disappeared. Jeff recovered his sight, looking around frantically for any sign of a person nearby. He was looking towards the caves when the sound of mumbling crept up on Jeff from behind. When Jeff turned back, he was greeted with a powerful blow to the chest. Jeff fell onto the snowy ground, the breath knocked completely out of him. Although in pain, he was able to open his eyes slightly, and what he saw before him was a huge, caveman-like human in a loincloth holding a club. The caveman lifted his club high above his head, aiming at Jeff, who was still lying in the snow. A hard swing came crashing down as Jeff assumed that it would be all over for him. However, the club slammed the earth a foot away from him. Jeff used the failed swing as an opportunity to pull out his stun gun. He aimed the gun at the massive man and fired as he closed in. The pulse connected with his neck, causing the caveman the stumble backwards into one of the stone pillars. Jeff quickly rose to his feet as he watched the foe flailing about in front of him. A couple seconds later, the caveman ceased moving, and his eyes retracted. Jeff stood frozen for a bit, staring at the gun and the fallen enemy back and forth. Jeff hadn't ever been much of a fighter, and now that he had presumably killed something for the first time, he felt a bit overwhelmed.

Jeff snapped out of his trance. _I...guess that's that, then. _Jeff hesitantly walked away from the scene, leaving the collapsed brute behind. Jeff made it about twenty feet away when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Still feeling very tense, Jeff pulled out his gun and swiftly turned around, pointing his gun immediately before him. He saw a heavy man in a red coat holding his hands above his head in resignation. "Whoa there son, calm down. I just wanted to talk to you," the man said. Jeff lowered his weapon and allowed for the man to speak. "I noticed that you were poking around the ruins. You didn't...see anything _weird_, did you? Like any aliens, maybe? I hear that UFO's sometimes-"

"No, I didn't. Now, please just let me be on my way," Jeff interrupted, briskly walking away from the man and heading south. _Dad's lab has gotta be around here __somewhere, _he thought. _Sorry guy, but I just spent the past few hours crossing Lake Tess on Tessie's back, spelunking in mushroom-infested caves, and being beaten down by a seven-foot tall caveman to find this damn place. I don't have time to chit-chat. _

* * *

The red-coated gentleman waited as Jeff slowly disappeared from sight, stroking his mustache and squinting all the while. After Jeff was gone, he surreptitiously moseyed over to the raised part of the ground in the middle of Stonehenge, lifted the cover off, and went down inside. He reached the bottom and passed through the same fluorescent trail that Jeff had. When he reached the eraser that kept Jeff from proceeding, he stood and muttered some strange phrases. As soon as he was finished reciting the apparent code, a star-shaped, metallic humanoid appeared before him, so spontaneously that it was as if he had teleported over. The man lowered his voice and spoke to the shiny robot. "The third of the four is on his way. He's heading to the lab, from where he will likely head to Threed to save the others."_  
_

The starman nodded and spoke in a very deep, artificial voice. "Then it is as the Apple of Enlightenment foretold. I'll alert Master Belch immediately."

The man in the red coat protested. 'But we should stop him while we can!"

The starman simply shook his head negatively. "No. Master Belch has been selected by the Apple to eradicate them. We cannot interfere with the Apple's wish. You know what will happen if we do."

The man swallowed in fear, remembering an incident in which someone disobeyed the Apple. Memories of the recent event flashed through the man's mind.

_Two golden starmen walked through the base, carrying a wounded, adolescent boy between them. They dragged him into a dark room with another __starman, this one with spikes on his shoulders. He motioned for the two golden robots to drop the boy in front of him. The spiked man spoke. __"You have gone against the desires of the Ultimate. For this, you must pay with your freedoms, and in the end, your free will."_

_The wounded boy begged. "Please, no! I was just doing what I thought the Apple would have wanted!"_

_The spiked starman laughed softly. "Begging will not grant you safety from my wrath. You know that His word is final, and not to be changed. For this infraction, I am obligated to demonstrate that to you. Luckily for you, the Apple has decided that I am not to exterminate you. Instead, He has a special plan. You see... you are still rather useful. I will spare your life, but not your liberty, so long as you agree to a new task, and a little something to make you more...compliant."_

_The chubby boy violently and affirmatively shook his head. The __starman slowly smiled. "Good. I shall reassign you to a new will work for the one called Monotoli and help him stop the chosen ones when they head east. You are to see that they do not reach city of summer. Do this by any means possible."_

_The boy nodded. Grinning fiercely, the spiked starman spoke one last time. "Excellent. I must now strip you of the freedom that you and your kind hold so dearly." The starman aimed his pointy arms at the blonde, chubby boy and narrowed his vision. "Brainshock..." he whispered, firing a powerful beam through the boy's brain. The teenager cried in pain and fell completely to the floor. "You now work for Giygas. You _belong_ to him. Do you understand this?"_

_The boy nodded slowly. "Giygas is my leader...my master...he is...the Ultimate." A different look took on the boy's face. He seemed dazed, hypnotized even. The starman ordered for the golden starmen to remove the boy from the base. "Send him to the city east of the desert. Now."_

_The two golden robots seized the boy and walked him out of the room. A devilish smirk covered the jagged starman's face. "The Apple does not tolerate failure or the insubordinate. Let this be a lesson to you, Pokey."  
_

**Author's note: **I was a little hesitant about that last section. I know a lot of people don't really like the OC stuff, but I thought that this could serve as a nice way to show how exactly Pokey became so closely associated with Giygas. Give me your thoughts on it! :)


	4. Postcards

**Author's note: Yay, it's here! Sorry for the long wait; it took forever to write this chapter. The dialogue between Jeff and Dr. Andonuts was really hard to write. I must've spent a week alone trying to get it the way I wanted it. And the rest only took one night :P Enjoy!**

* * *

Shivering pines and frozen plateaus lied before Jeff as he made his way past Stonehenge. The sun was fully out now, pouring light in Jeff's direction. Jeff regretted not bringing any snow shoes along with him on his journey as his feet sunk deep into the soft whiteness with every step. He quickly grew irritated at the constant plunging into the ground and the snow's strong resistance as he tried to raise his legs out. _Damn, how much farther _is_ it?_

Jeff stopped to rest for a bit, leaning on the cold, stiff edge of a plateau. He hung his head, staring at the unforgiving, pale earth before him. After some minutes passed, he lifted his vision and noticed a building in the distance, about one hundred feet away. Adjusting his glasses a few times, Jeff analyzed the structure. It was a hexagonal, metallic edifice with power generators connected to its outside area. Jeff started to relax and smile. _That must be it, then; Dad's lab. _He regained his energy and headed over, no longer feeling inhibited by the snow. When Jeff reached a large, steel door, he extended his right arm and gave a few knocks. He waited a moment, but nobody came to answer. Becoming very impatient, Jeff turned the handle and was surprised to see that the door was open. Carefully, he poked his head inside and surveyed the place, scanning the interior from left to right. Once he saw that no one was present, he slipped in and quietly closed the door. Jeff took a look around the lab, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, almost as if he had been there before.

Beakers, test tubes, and other expensive-looking lab equipment littered the inside of the building. Jeff noticed some chalkboards on the walls containing complex formulas and absurdly difficult equations. Jeff silently walked over and began analyzing the chalkboards, staring at the problems. He saw an unfinished problem below a mess of scribbles and failed attempts, and threw himself into a reverie as he picked up a piece of chalk. Jeff quickly started writing and filling out the equation and solved it without an ounce of hesitation or uncertainty. He took a couple steps back and admired his work, his hands resting on his hips. _So, the great Dr. Andonuts couldn't even figure this one out, eh?_

"Hey, you got it!" a voice called out from around a corner. Jeff turned around to see an older, gray-haired man pop out from behind some whirring machines. He was clad in a generic, white lab coat. "You must be one smart kid!"

Jeff froze from a moment, instantly torn out of his trance. Being very passionate about science, Jeff would often lose himself in his work. In this case, it resulted in him forgetting that he was intruding in somebody's home. Beat red with embarrassment, he spoke. "Oh...hi," Jeff said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to barge in or anything, but...uh, no one was at the door, so...well, do you happen to know if Dr. Andonuts is around?"

The short old man smiled. "Of course. Let me think for a second," the man said, cupping his chin with his hand. After a couple seconds of appearing lost in thought and mumbling some "mhmm"s, the old man snapped back and quickly extended his hand. "Dr. Andonuts at your service. How may I help you?"

Jeff's sheepish look faded, and he sighed in relief, shaking the man's hand. "Oh, good. Well, there's something we need to talk about, aparently..." Jeff half-shrugged. "Do you remember requesting long ago that a friend of yours, Maxwell, send your son to your lab in Stonehenge when he would start having visions?"

The scientist stared unresponsively for a moment, looking Jeff over before speaking." ...Jeff? Is it really you?"

Jeff nodded. Mouth slightly agape, Dr. Andonuts continued. "Then you must be wondering why you're here. Well, we'll get to that soon. But first, let's talk about that problem you solved," the old man said as he briskly walked over to the chalkboard. He cupped his chin with his hand and shook his head affirmatively. Upon seeing and verifying the answer, he grinned. "Finally. I've been trying to figure this one out for at least a week," the scientist turned to Jeff. "You must really be a science fan, huh?"

Jeff smiled. "When you spend most of your life in a boarding school for training young scientists, it's hard not to like this stuff."

"Glad to hear it," Dr. Andonuts returned the smile. "I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, then. Oh, and speaking of apples...there's something we need to talk about."

Jeff listened attentively. _Finally, let's find out why I'm here. _He stared expectantly at his father, allowing him to continue.

"Well," he began with a sigh. "You must have a lot of questions, no? I think I can help clear things up for you. The two questions I'm sure you've been asking yourself are regarding why you're here, and what the visions were all about...well, here we go. I don't know an easy way to put this, so I'm just going to be blunt about it. It is your destiny to meet up with the other kids from your visions and stop the evil forces ravaging the world. Oh, and you also must save the planet from utter destruction, naturally," he finished, his voice encased in a completely casual and unconcerned tone.

Jeff's head shot back with disbelief, mouth now hanging open slightly. _Yeah, just saving the planet from being destroyed. No biggie. _"How do you know this?"

Dr. Andonuts sat down in a nearby chair and motioned for Jeff to do the same. Leaning back a bit, he spoke. "Years ago, when you were maybe around six years old, I moved from my old lab in Eagleland to begin constructing a new one here in Winters. When I arrived, I enlisted the the aid of a certain Brick Road to help me build my new lab. He's quite a brilliant man when it comes to architecture, really..."

Jeff closed his eyes and stopped listening for a bit. _Ugh. Dad, I know, I know. He's some weirdo that loves to build dungeons. I get it.__  
_

"...So after the lab was finally finished, I began to really explore the surrounding area, Stonehenge in particular. It wasn't long before stumbled upon a hidden, underground tunnel in the center of the pillars. Being the curious man I am, I decided to take a look around. Oh, yes, before I continue...have you, by chance, visited Stonehenge?" Dr. Andonuts asked.

"I have actually, and I've also been in that flashy, colorful pathway," Jeff replied.

The old scientist smiled. "Good. That saves me the trouble, then. You must have noticed the giant, iron eraser blocking the trail. Well, when I reached that point, I realized that I couldn't continue, and I left the tunnels. But that's not the whole story, oh no..." Dr. Andonuts sighed. "I couldn't just leave it alone; the joint was eating at me day after day. So, I ended up going there again to try and see if I could pass the obstruction. When I descended the ladder for the second time, I heard two people speaking down the corridor. Silently, I made my way to the floor before the two voices and hid against a wall. I couldn't help but eavesdrop, and what I heard...was just unbelievable. There were two voices, one that sounded like an middle-aged man, and another that sounded almost artificial, as if it were a robot speaking. They were talking about a being called 'the Apple of Enlightenment', who appeared to be their leader, or advisor perhaps. The voices were discussing orders from the Apple, ones such as bringing more 'starmen' to the base. I wasn't so sure as to what that meant, and I'm still a bit uncertain. From what I can get out of it, they're extraterrestrial soldiers. Anyways..." he paused for breath,"They also spoke about four special kids, 'the chosen four', they were called. Your name was among those mentioned, Jeff. Apparently, the Apple predicted that you would stop their evil plans to conquer the world. During this, they also tossed another name around: 'the Ultimate', or 'guy-gas', or whatever. Not too sure about that, either..."

Jeff interrupted as the old man trailed off. "So, you're saying that aliens are going to take over the world? And that it's up to me to stop them?"

Dr. Andonuts nodded. "Yes, you and three other teenagers. It may seem a bit hard to swallow, but I assure you, it's real."

_A bit? More like trying to drink an entire bowl of Kraken Soup in one gulp. _"This seems rather ridiculous. Do you have any proof? Any records of this stuff?"

"But of course. What kind of scientist would I be if I didn't take good notes?" the scientist answered with a smirk. "For years, I kept watch on the ruins. Many times I would stay stay up late, gazing at the structure from the roof of my lab. And, almost every time, I would see people enter the hole in the middle, very shady-looking folk. One rare occasion, I had the pleasure of seeing some kind of outer space ship land within the pillars," Dr. Andonuts stopped, noticing Jeff rolling his eyes with tenuous belief. "I can see you don't believe me. Well, allow me to get you some proof," he said, rising from his chair and pulling a photograph from a nearby desk. He sat back down and handed the photo to Jeff, whose eyes began to bulge slightly. This pleased Dr. Andonuts. Smiling, he continued. "I have something else to throw at you, too. Jeff shifted his countenance from the picture to meet his father's. "The psychic girl from your 'dreams'...her name was Paula, correct? And, I believe that she said something about being stuck in the Threed Cemetery, yes?"

Jeff's heart dropped as did the picture from his hands. "You...how did you..."

Andonuts interrupted, grinning as he realized that he had finally broken through Jeff's skepticism. "I knew that I'd get through to you soon enough. That was just one of the things I overheard while sneaking around in the base. The voices mentioned that one of the chosen four, Paula, was to be captured and imprisoned in the cemetery below Threed, along with a boy called Ness."

Jeff sat back as a contemplative look filled his face. "If they knew so much about the future, and that I was one of the chosen ones, then why didn't they ever make attempts to capture _me? _I mean, they were _so _close..."

"Oh, but they did. Now I guess is the time to explain one last thing to you. You know how all of these years I kept you at Snow Wood?" he asked rhetorically. "Well, it was for your safety. You see, when you were around six years old and still living with me at this very lab, I overheard the voices at Stonehenge speak about kidnapping you to prevent you from rescuing Paula. I got worried, and, well...I decided to take action."

"By sending me away to boarding school?" Jeff replied snidely.

The old scientist sighed with remorse. "Yes, son. I've always felt terrible about never being able to spend time with you or raise you myself, but it was for your own, honest good. The school was the only option I had. Please tell me that it has at least been enjoyable for you."

Jeff started to smile as he thought. "Yeah, actually. I've met some really great people there over the years, and recently, too," Jeff replied, a knot forming in his throat as he thought about Madison, and how he would likely not see her for weeks or months. "Don't worry about it, dad. Overall, it's been pleasant."

Dr. Andonuts was washed in relief. "I'm glad to hear that. I suppose I should let you know that sending you away to counter kidnapping was a success. You see, only maybe a few days after I had you put in Snow Wood, my lab was raided," he took a breath. "Late one night, I was woken up by the sound of loud crashes in the lower section of my lab. I jumped out of bed and rushed down to see what the commotion was all about, but by the time I got there, no one was around. They didn't leave any traces of who they were, but I noticed some burns on my equipment, likely from lasers."

"They only came to look for me once?" Jeff asked inquisitively.

Jeff's father shook his head. "No, of course not. This event happened at least two more times. I guess that they eventually decided that you weren't at my lab any longer, and quit searching."

A brief silence filled the room as Jeff propped his head on the palm of his hand. His father broke the silence. "Well, that's enough of that. It's time for you to be on your way, Jeff. Follow me over to my docking station." Dr. Andonuts rose from his chair and led Jeff over to a corner in the back of the lab. After opening a large, metal door, he revealed a strange machine. "Son, this," he said, pointing to the circular, silver vessel,"is the Skyrunner."

Jeff furrowed his brow. "What's this thing?"

"It's your ticket to Threed, that's what it is!" the scientist beamed. "It's a transport mechanism. It's propelled by jets underneath its two legs and is surprisingly reliable!"

Jeff inspected the machine, quickly recognizing its manner of construction. "It appears to be made similarly to most aircrafts, but with obvious exterior changes."

Andonuts laughed. "Yes, it is a bit different looking, isn't it? Well, I assure you, weird build aside, that it is one hundred percent safe and dependable."

"How exactly does it work?" Jeff asked, poking around inside the mechanism's interior. Bright control panels took up most of the inside of the vessel, buttons lined up all around.

"It flies on a sort of autopilot. That is, it requires set coordinates and directions to and from locations before it can take off. For example. if you were to go to Threed, you would need to have the coordinates for both Threed and this lab in Winters, input them in the Skyrunner's map grid, set the direction it will be traveling, such as south, and bam! It's that easy." Andonuts said proudly.

"And these coordinates," Jeff began," are unique to this machine's guidance system?"

"Precisely. Luckily for you, though, I have the coordinates for both places; I mapped them out long ago when I first heard of your visions, and where they'd take you."

"And if I want to change the destination, I have to return here, right?" Jeff followed up, slowly understanding the mechanics of this odd vessel.

"Well, yes. Being that the codes and coordinates are unique to the Skyrunner, I'd have to map them out using formulas and converting measurements. It wouldn't take too long, however; I already have the distance from this lab to most prominent settlements and cities. So, all I'd have to do is some calculations," Andonuts explained.

"I guess I'll just head back here after I finish up business in Threed, then," Jeff concluded. He looked over the vessel some more, this time making sure that he would be able to make any repairs to it if need be. _I don't want to get stranded in the damn desert or anything without knowing how to fix this piece of junk. _After he was satisfied, he looked to his father with an expectant look.

"Oh, yes, starting it," he started. "Here, just pull this here lever," he said, pointing at a long, metallic lever sticking out of the main control panel, "then you'll be off."

Jeff lightly placed his hand on the lever and looked to his father. "Well," he hesitated," I guess I should get going, then. I wish we could spend more time together, but...well, you know as well as I do that the fate of the world is kind of at stake."

Dr. Andonuts smiled. "I understand, son. You take care now. Hey, maybe we'll get a chance to ride together sometime when you get back?"

"Yeah, maybe in another ten years," Jeff joked. "I promise that I'll return as soon as I rescue Paula and...Ness, was it? Anyways..." Jeff trailed off.

"That would be great, Jeff. Just be careful out there, you know?" Dr. Andonuts urged. "But I'm sure you'll do fine. As far as I can see, you're a smart, tough enough kid to make it out there no matter what comes your way."

Jeff pulled the lever, and the father and son exchanged goodbyes as the Skyrunner's door slowly closed. Dr. Andonuts flipped open a nearby keypad on the wall and punched in some numbers, causing the roof of the lab to open up. The machine gently rose off of its platform, leaving behind the cold, metallic building. As it ascended into the air, Jeff looked outside its porthole-styled windows and took in the view. The Skyrunner lazily began picking up speed and moving in the direction of Threed.

The landscape of Winters flew past Jeff, quickly being replaced by a softer, greener terrain. In the distance, he could see a, indescribably enormous city of skyscrapers form in front of him. Neon signs flashed, cars sped by, and people swarmed all throughout the concrete jungle. Jeff made out a sign as he passed: 'Welcome to Fourside, the Home of the Topolla Theater!'. _This must be the town that Madison was talking about. It looks amazing..._

Fourside came and went in a matter of minutes, its image taken over by that of a desert. Jeff could feel the intense heat of the cracked, dry earth rising up into the Skyrunner. _Hot damn..._Jeff thought as he searched furiously for the switch to an air conditioner. Scattered oases were spread out around the area with palm trees growing next to them, barely able to survive in the inhospitable conditions. Along the middle of the desert was one single road, congested with traffic from cars and trucks. He noticed a few people getting out of their vehicles and walking the opposite direction of the Skyrunner's path, towards Fourside. This area soon faded as fast as it came, and the round vessel made its way into a very dark, cloudy region. A veil of blackness enveloped what looked to be a small, carnival community. The sun was blocked almost completely from the nearing town, leaving the city with only a dim, purple light.

The Skyrunner began frantically beeping, causing Jeff to become worried and pace around the vessel, searching for the cause. The machine circled a cemetery that popped up below it, beeps growing louder and coming more often as the aircraft hovered over a certain spot in the graveyard. Jeff ceased searching when the vessel stopped and remained still in the air. _What's going on now?_

Jeff felt himself smack flush against the ceiling of the Skyrunner as it came crashing down from the air. The ground below the vessel tore open, moist and dead earth crumbling by the porthole windows. The vessel soon met with the cold floor of an underground chamber and was broken in pieces upon impact. Jeff fell back to the bottom of the machine's remnants, groaning as he held his head. _Haven't I had enough head trauma these past few days? Ugh...  
_

Jeff crawled out of the seemingly destroyed Skyrunner and took a look around. Smoke from the burnt electronics of the vessel had filled the room, preventing Jeff from getting a clear view. As the smoke finally dissipated, he was greeted with the face of a girl sitting in a corner, arms wrapped around her legs. A smile crept on her nervous countenance. Jeff couldn't help but notice that she was a very pretty girl. He could tell that she was around his age, probably around seventeen. Long, blonde hair draped down her shoulders, tied loosely with a red ribbon. She wore a pink, grimy looking dress with red shoes. Jeff saw an uneasy, imploring look in her big, blue eyes. Before Jeff could introduce himself, he felt a blow strike his back from behind.

"God damn it!" Jeff shouted in agony from the soft ground. _That's two times in one day..._

"Crap, sorry man!" A voice called out. "I didn't mean it. It was just all the smoke; I couldn't see you too well. And, it's just... well, the last time a grey-colored dude came from the sky he tried killing me. With fire. Are you okay?"

Jeff suddenly felt the pain melt away as the voice began groaning in concentration. "Is that better?"

Jeff rose from the cold floor and turned to meet the mistaken attacker. His eyes met an embarrassed face of a boy, also around his age. He had black hair under a red baseball cap, hanging just above a set of dark brown eyes. Despite the darker features, he had a rather pale complexion. He was dressed in a yellow and purple striped t-shirt with blue shorts.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine," Jeff replied, rubbing his forehead. "Are you Ness?"

"Yeah, I am. You must be Jeff, right? Man, am I glad to see you!" Ness threw his arm over Jeff's shoulder and squeezed him to his chest. "We've been down here for a couple days with barely any food or water. We didn't know if you'd be coming or not. Paula said she'd called you like ten times..."

"Paula?" Jeff questioned.

"Yeah, she's that wimpy chick hiding in the back over there!" Ness teased pointing to the blonde girl Jeff saw when he first made his flashy entrance.

"Shut up, Ness," she spoke in mild annoyance, rolling her eyes. "I'm Paula. It's nice to meet you, Jeff."

Jeff nodded. "Likewise. So, you're the ones who have been calling me the past few days?"

"Sure are. We got trapped down here by some zombies and couldn't get out. Care to explain why, Ness?" Paula asked, folding her arms in frustration.

"Uh...well..." Ness stammered,"that's...just don't worry about it! Jeff's here now, and that's all that matters."

Paula lightly lied against the wall, sighing in irritation. Jeff broke the silent feud and rubbed his back. "So, what was that you did to me a few seconds ago? I don't have that breathless, aching feeling anymore."

Ness flicked his head back. "Oh, yeah. That was just a little dose of PSI Healing. I thought it'd soothe any pain that I might've caused."

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "PSI Healing?"

"Yep. Paula and I have psychic abilities, and one of mine happens to be the ability to heal. It's pretty handy," Ness grinned.

"You two are...psychic?" Jeff inquired in disbelief. "You know what, never mind. Forget I said anything." _After today, I'm not questioning anything anymore. _Jeff looked back at the annihilated Skyrunner, pursing his lips. _Well, so much for going back to Winters..._

"All righty then. So..." Ness paused, "you have a plan to get out of here, right? I don't think we can get out from the hole you made; it's way too high above us."

Jeff thought for a moment, then reached into his pockets and pulled out the bad key machine that Maxwell had given him earlier. He looked it over, and then handed it to Ness. "This should work. Just insert the skeleton key into the door over there and it should open right up."

"Killer," Ness said as he walked over to the steel door. He slid the skeleton key into the keyhole and turned it as the door swiftly flew open. A huge smile formed over Ness and Paula's faces. Jeff stood back as Paula and Ness rushed over and out of the room, soon following suit. Ness and Paula led Jeff up some stairs and up a ladder into the cemetery above. Once they surfaced, Jeff spoke. "So, now that we're out of there, can you tell me what the hell is going on? From what I understand, aliens are trying to destroy the Earth, and we're the only ones who can stop them."

"Yep. Honestly, we don't know much more about the whole dealio than you do. Paula knows more than me, but mostly just about where we need to go after we get past certain points," Ness admitted. "If Buzz-Buzz was still around, he could probably enlighten you a bit."

Jeff cocked his head. "...Who?"

"Forget it. It was before I was around with you guys..." Ness replied. "Man, he was a pretty boss bee. Or whatever he really was."

The trio exited the graveyard and made their way into town. Ness and Paula went straight over to the drugstore to buy some food and water. As they picked up their supplies, Ness directed a question towards Jeff. "So, where are you from, man? You don't look like you're from anywhere I've ever been."

"I'm from a country up north called Winters. Before I left to rescue you guys, I used to attend a boarding school," Jeff explained.

"That explains your clothes," Paula giggled, poking Jeff's sewed-on Snow Wood badge.

Jeff chuckled and nodded. "Yeah...I didn't have a whole lot of time to choose an adventuring wardrobe, so this had to do."

Ness fixed his sight on Jeff's stun gun in his belt loop. "Is that your piece, Jeff?"

Jeff looked at Ness quizzically for a moment, then realized what he was referring to. "Oh, yeah, this stun gun here," he said, tapping on his weapon. I picked it up on my way over here. It's saved me a few times already."

"We'll have to see how you handle it in battle," Ness smirked. "All right," he continued, now having finished restocking on goods, "let's get going."

The three teenagers paid the clerk for their supplies and left the drugstore. Ness turned to Paula and posed a question. "So, what now, hot stuff?"

Paula started thinking about their next objective, and quickly became confused. "Well...I would suggest what we should do next, but...I really don't know _what _we're supposed to do. You're here now, Jeff, but we still can't head through the valley up north yet since the zombies are in the way. And the tunnels are filled with ghosts. I...I really have no idea."

Ness grew a little concerned. "Are you sure you don't know? Because I definitely don't..."

Paula shook her head "no" and began looking curiously over at the area south of the drugstore. "Hey now, I don't remember _that _from before," she said, pointing to a dark purple circus tent in the distance. "Maybe we should go check it out. I mean, what else can we really do at this point?"

Ness and Jeff agreed, and the trio headed over to the abandoned circus yard. Wrecked cages and torn, miniature tents littered the area, giving the area a very eerie aura. The kids stepped in front of the larger tent that Paula spotted from before and inspected it.

"I certainly don't remember this..." Paula said, placing hand on her hip. "Ness? Do you?"

"Nope. I think we'd remember a two story tall circus tent," he answered.

Strange growls emerged from the tent, eliciting surprise from the teenagers. "What was that?" Jeff asked, a bit frightened.

Suddenly, huge eyelids materialized on the front of the tent and lifted up to reveal giant, yellow eyes with black pupils. A jaw full of extremely sharp teeth opened up below the eyes, and the tent formed a smile.

Jeff stood frozen solid in fear, staring at the horrifying face. Ness and Paula, however, immediately jumped into combat. Ness's eyes filled red with rage and concentration as he released a bright, colorful shockwave of energy from his hands at the creature. Paula simultaneously pointed her fingers directly in front of her, eyes red with the same anger and absorption as Ness. Streams of intense fire shot out from the girl's fingertips, frying and singeing the nylon monster. The fight was over before the foe could even retaliate, leaving nothing but a pile of torn fabric and ash where the creature once was.

Jeff was now frozen in awe rather than fear. He was engrossed in a sensory overload of confusion, stemming from both the terrifying monster and the powerful attacks of his peers. Ness and Paula quickly took notice to his astonishment and laughed. "Well, how's that for our first group fight, Jeff?" Paula joked, nudging Jeff's limp arm.

Jeff shook himself back to reality. "What _was_ all that? The stuff you guys did, I mean..."

"PSI attacks. Oh, wait," Paula realized, "you've never seen us use them before. I guess that was a pretty crazy looking scene, huh?"

Jeff nodded slowly as Paula and Ness giggled a bit at his wonderment.

A sound from below the ashes quickly broke their laughter, and two zombies surfaced. They looked at the three children in fear, and sprinted away before Ness and Paula could work their magic again. Ness stepped forward and noticed that the zombies left behind a jar filled with a viscus, yellow liquid inside. He seized the container and opened it up, taking a whiff of the substance inside. His head shot back instantly as he gagged and screwed the lid back on. "Jeez, what the hell is this junk?"

Paula and Jeff chuckled while Ness recovered from the punch of disgusting odors. Ness looked at the jar more closely and read the label. "_Fly_ Honey?"

The other two kids shrugged, and Ness placed the jar in his yellow backpack. "Never know, I guess..."

The trio started walking back in the direction of the drugstore, wandering along a road that contained the town's hotel and real circus tent.

"Well, I don't know what we're gonna do now..." Ness sighed. "Maybe we should go talk to the circus tent managers and see what they know about all of this?"

Paula and Jeff concurred, and they made their way over to the large, orange tent. As the teenagers were crossing the street, a ringing noise went off in Ness's pocket. He reached in and pulled out a receiver phone.

"Hello?" Ness answered. Paula and Jeff stood by, waiting for him finish up. "Okay, cool! Thanks Apple Kid; you're the best! Later, man!"

Ness hung up his phone and turned to his friends. "Well, the Apple Kid apparently created something called 'zombie paper', and it's supposed to attract and trap zombies! It's just what we need to get rid of those idiots above the cemetery."

"Where are we gonna put it, though?" Paula asked.

"Well, he said that it should be laid down in an enclosed area, and that it'd be best to do it in a nonpermanent place. So, I thought we could go see if the circus people will let us set it up inside the tent. I'm sure they'll be cool with it; I mean, they'll do anything if it means getting rid of those shuffler freaks."

"Wait," Jeff interrupted, pausing a bit. "Who's Apple Kid?"

Ness looked at him curiously for a moment and then remembered that Jeff had only just joined up and wouldn't know anything about the genius inventor. "Oh yeah. He's an inventor that I met back in Twoson. He's a pretty rad dude, and he's always making inventions for me. He said that this new one, the 'zombie paper', would be coming to us via the Mach Pizza delivery guy. So...now we wait, I guess."

"Yo!" A voice called out from a few feet away. "Are you Ness?"

Ness shifted his vision over to a short, tan guy in a pizza delivery outfit. Before Ness could answer, the man spoke. "Okay, even if you're not Ness, I'm still gonna give you this package. I delivered this Apple Kid a pizza a few minutes ago, and I guess he thought that I just _love_ making deliveries _so_ much, that he'd give me a parcel of his own to hand out. Well, that's not my job, damn it! So I've decided that you're gonna be Ness, no matter what, and that I'm gonna dump this junk off on you. Do whatever you want with it..."

"Okay, but I actually _am-"_

"All right Mr. Ness," the man with the mustache cut in, "have fun with your new toy!" The Mach Pizza man gave Ness a wink and darted off. Ness shrugged and opened up the box, taking a long look at the contents. Inside was a very wide, folded sheet of paper with an adhesive stuck over it.

Ness refolded the paper and closed the box. "Well, here it is. Let's go check up with the guys at the tent now."

The three chosen ones lifted up the flap of the circus tent and were met with frightened stares from the staff. After the workers confirmed that the kids weren't zombies, they relaxed. One of them, a young man with red hair and glasses wearing an orange blazer, spoke up. "What are you guys doing here? Get your own hiding place from the zombies!"

"We're here to help," Paula began. "We have a solution to the town's corpse problem." Ness opened the box and held out the zombie paper, eliciting a few "ooo"s and "ah"s from the other staff members. Paula continued. "Just put this stuff down around the tent, and the zombies'll come right over and get stuck."

"Wait a minute," a blonde woman wearing a red blouse, a black skirt, and black-rimmed glasses spoke up, "why would we wanna put it in here? This is our only safe haven from those freaks!"

"We need an indoor space large enough to accommodate this 'zombie paper'. This tent is ideal, being that it is both large and collapsable," Jeff answered. Ness was a bit surprised by Jeff's speech and wording, not being a really big fan of using fancy words. Although Jeff had barely spoken at all since arriving, Ness could tell that he was quite a refined young man. He wasn't sure if their styles would mesh, especially after seeing his hesitance in combat, but he knew that he could count on Jeff to at least be useful as far as repairs. "If you want to rid yourselves of these self-exhuming abominations, then I'd highly suggest letting us use your facility. In short, just leave and let us take care of the dirty work."

The crowd erupted in noise, and opinions spouted left and right. After some thought, they reached an agreement. "All right, fine," the redhead man spoke,"just do it. We can always stay home for a night until this is all over with."

Jeff nodded and motioned for the workers to exit. Once everybody had left, the kids started laying down the trap. It took about ten minutes, and floor was glowing with the sticky glare of the zombie paper. They carefully stepped out of the tent, avoiding contact with the adhesive at all costs.

The sun was almost down completely now, although it was nearly impossible to tell in Threed. The whole group was feeling extremely worn out, and they had to drag themselves along to move.

"Now what?" Ness asked, sighing in exhaustion.

"I'd say it's high time we get some real rest and wash up. Let's stay the night at the hotel," Paula suggested.

Ness grew surprised. "After what happened?"

Paula's eyelids lowered. "Yeah. This time, you'll just have to not follow any bikini-wearing women into their rooms. I know it sounds hard, but I'm sure you can manage."

Ness rubbed the back of his neck in shame as Jeff smirked. The teenagers crossed the street over to the Sunset Hotel, and rented a room for three people. The crew set down all of the items they were carrying on a table, and Ness and Paula began undressing. Once they were down to their underwear, they looked over to an uncomfortable Jeff standing by the door. Ness laughed and spoke. "I'm just gonna take some stuff to the wash room. No funny business is going on..." Ness put on some light pajamas as Paula did the same. "I'm gonna take our clothes over to get it cleaned up. Want me to take any of your stuff?"

Jeff nodded and handed Ness his jacket, pants, and button-up shirt, now clad in his boxers and a tank-top. Ness withdrew himself from the hotel room and left Jeff and Paula alone. Jeff lied in his bed, thinking deeply. After a minute-long silence, Paula popped a question. "So," she started,"whatcha thinking about, Jeff?"

Jeff broke out of his trance and turned to his new friend. "Just somebody from back home." _Maddi..._

"Who is it, Jeff? Is it...a giiiirl?" Paula teased. Jeff flicked his sight over towards Paula, who noticed his sullen expression. "It is, isn't it?"

Jeff shook his head "yes". "Her name's Madison. I've only been away from her for a few hours, but it feels like it's been forever. I'd give anything to see her right now."

Paula thought for a moment, and a brilliant idea formed in her mind. "I know what we can do. How about," she paused, leaning at the edge of Jeff's bed," I send your friend a little 'postcard'?"

Jeff grew interested. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Paula reclined,"I can use my psychic powers to send Madison a vision similar to the ones you had, and, as an added bonus...I'll send you one as well. Then, I'll connect the dreams and you can see each other, and even _feel_ each other."

Jeff sprang up with intense excitement. "You can do that? And you'd do it for me?"

"Of course! It's the least I could do for you after saving us," Paula replied with a smile.

_Stupid machine... _Ness thought as he rocked a non-responsive washer back and forth. _Take my quarters, damn it!_

Jeff tried to fall asleep so that Paula could send him into dreamland, but he was simply too worked up. "Man, I can't fall asleep! I just can't stop thinking about it."

"Hmm..." Paula thought. Ness walked in a couple minutes later with a bundle of clean clothing and laid it on a wooden rack in the closet. He picked up the remainder of the dirty clothes and was about to leave when Paula called over to him. "Hey Ness, could you do me a favor before you go back out to wash the rest?" Ness looked over to her expectantly. "Can you do...on him?" Paula said, silently making a back and forth motion from her forehead with her hands.

"Uhh, sure," Ness replied. He then stared at Jeff, who was leaning up in his bed, and shot a beam of PSI Hypnosis at him. Jeff quickly fell asleep and collapsed back onto the bed. "What's this all about?"

"Just a little favor for helping us out," Paula answered.

* * *

Jeff woke up in his dorm bed and took a few looks around. It wasn't exactly as it was in real life, but Paula had done a good job trying to fabricate it in her mind with only Jeff's description. He rose and looked at the bed next to him, which would normally be taken by Tony. Instead, he saw somebody else lying there: Madison.

He grinned wide and walked over to her. She stirred a little, but wasn't yet awake. He figured that she hadn't yet begun to experience the dream. He put his hand on her shoulder and whispered to her. "Madison..."

Madison lifted her head from the pillow and groaned a little. "Huh...who..."

"It's Jeff, Maddi."

Madison turned her back from Jeff to face him. She slowly opened her eyes, forming the same smile that Jeff wore. Jeff leaned in and planted a long, endearing kiss on her lips. He could really feel her.

Madison pulled Jeff in and wrapped her arms around him. "Jeff...but how?"

"I made it, Madison. I'm finally here. I found Paula, and she's safe now," Jeff replied, rubbing Madison's hand as he kissed her again. "I'm so glad to be with you right now."

"I don't know how this is happening," Madison began,"but it's amazing. It's like...it's like you're actually here, Jeff..."

Jeff held his girl tightly. "This is my little postcard to you, my little way of saying, 'I made it'. And I did make it, Maddi. The journey's already unraveling faster than I could've imagined..."


	5. An Evil Moves Forward

It was the first morning in days that Jeff had woken up feeling rested and energized, as the past few days had been constant with disruptions. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a couple minutes, stretching his arms and wiping the sand out of his eyes. He turned to his side, facing Paula's bed, and noticed that she wasn't there. Flipping on his side to face Ness's, he found that Ness was not around either. Jeff looked over at the digital clock on his nightstand and saw that it was nine o'clock. _Man, _he thought, smiling, _I haven't slept in this late for a good while._

The morning's glow dimly crept in through the cracks of the shades above Jeff's bed, illuminating a third of the room with a weak gleam of light. The only time that Threed saw the sun was in the morning, and even then it was hardly brighter than usual. It did, however, provide those who woke up early with a pleasant reminder that the sun did in fact still exist, although it seemed otherwise.

With some hesitation, Jeff forced himself to pull away from the comfort of his warm bed to go search for his new friends. He kicked off the sheets and set his feet on the carpet, feeling the soft fibers worm through his toes. He squinted as he tried to take a look around the room, then realized that he wasn't wearing his glasses; Jeff could handle reading things closely or interpreting nearby objects, but his far vision was less than stellar. Jeff lazily slapped a hand around on the wooden nightstand and grabbed his glasses. He noticed some dried ash on the lens and wiped it off, reminded of Tony. _Man, I bet he'd have gone ape over these being so dirty._

Jeff dragged his feet over to the closet and picked out his now-clean clothes. He observed that the melted snow stains and overall grime were no longer covering his pant legs. _Thanks, Ness. As one of the chosen __heroes of the world, I can't afford to go around looking like a slob._

As Jeff finished dressing himself, the door to the hotel room swung open to reveal Ness and Paula. Ness was holding a new wooden baseball bat in his right hand, and Paula was tapping a metal fry pan on her hip.

Ness saw Jeff sitting on his bed, tying on his shoes. "Hey man, you're finally awake!"

"Yep," Jeff began as he lifted his head from his shoes to meet Ness's face, "I just got up a few minutes ago. Where have you guys been?"

Ness threw his backpack and new toy on the bed and quickly followed them, jumping onto the mattress. He turned on his side over to Jeff, looking at him with the cocky enthusiasm that he always had. "Paula and I stopped by the drugstore to pick up some new weapons. When we were captured, the zombies took away our old ones, so we decided to use the opportunity to upgrade." Ness picked up his bat and flashed it in Jeff's direction. "This here's a minor league bat, and it packs one hell of a punch."

Jeff followed the bat with his eyes as Ness swung at invisible enemies. "Did you play baseball before you went off on this excursion of ours?"

Ness nodded proudly as old memories filled his mind. "Sure did. I played for the Onett team as a pitcher, mostly. But, what I really loved was hitting; I could hit a ball from Onett all the way to Fourside if I tried hard enough," he laughed, laying down on his back and gazing at the ceiling. "Man, do I miss it. All because the stupid Earth has to depend on teenagers for its...saving..."

"Salvation?" Jeff suggested, wearing a half-smile.

"That's it. Thanks, Webster," Ness teased sarcastically. "So Jeff, what did you do before you met up with us?"

Well," Jeff reclined," I used to do a lot with science, chemistry and physics, mostly. The boarding school I stayed at had an emphasis on that stuff more so than other subjects, so I was practically raised to be a scientist."

Ness dismissed his friend's reply. "I meant, what do you do for _fun?_"

"Oh, _fun..._" Jeff retorted mockingly, smirking. "Well, here and there I make repairs to electronics and appliances, and sometimes even weapons. I think I have a broken air gun from Snow Wood that I still have to fix, actually." Jeff looked over to the gun in a pile of his belongings by the closet.

"I don't think we're anywhere close to the same definition of 'fun', man. But, whatever floats your boat..." Ness trailed off, shrugging his shoulders and standing back up on the carpet.

"It _does _sound a little fun to me," Paula added, setting down her things and sitting in an armchair by a television set. "Don't listen to Ness, Jeff. He's a jock straight to the heart. If you don't talk sports twenty-four seven, he gets lost."

"So not true..." Ness argued. "It's not just sports. Talk about chicks or video games and I'm all ears."

Paula threw her head back and rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ness, I can't even tell if that was genuine, or just your sense of 'humor'." This elicited a grin from Ness, who was now picking up his bat and putting on his backpack with a wry expression.

Ness tossed out an idea. "Do you guys wanna get some breakfast before we take a look around the tent?" Ness stopped himself, quickly thinking of how the idea could go wrong. "Or, maybe we should wait 'til after to eat. It might be pretty nasty in there, so we shouldn't waste a meal by...ya know..."

Paula chuckled from across the room and sat up from the arm chair, relaxing her arms. "Yeah, let's go see how well the zombie paper worked, and then grab something to eat. I'd rather keep my food down, if you don't mind."

Ness looked over to Jeff, who nodded in approval. The teenage trio snatched up their belongings and headed out the door, instantly interrupted by a doorman holding a newspaper. "Excuse me sirs and miss," the young man interjected, puffing out his chest and feigning professionalism," would you like me to read you the paper's headline?"

The kids turned to look at each and shrugged, Ness looking back at the doorman and shaking his head "yes". "Of course, sirs and miss. Here it is: _Innocuous Purple Tent Burnt Down Late Sunday. No Leads As of Yet."_

Ness rubbed the back of his neck, briefly thanked the doorman, and briskly walked away with his companions. "I guess it's a good thing that PSI doesn't leave behind any fingerprints..." Ness respired as they stepped out the front door. "Word must travel fast around here, huh?"

"When you're isolated from the rest of the world, what else would you have to report on?" Paula joked. "There are the zombies too, I suppose, but hey, they're pretty much just commonplace at this point."

Ness, Jeff, and Paula left the stoop of the hotel and crossed the street to the large circus tent. As they approached it, they heard loud, cheerful chattering from inside the nylon tapestry. Ness flipped open the tent flap and poked his head inside to see a mess of bodies covering the floor of the tent like a blanket, while the circus staff stood surrounding them.A potent stench of rot and decay permeated the interior of the tent, indicating that the kids caught the right people, or smirked and motioned for his friends to come inside. "I think we did it, guys."

There was a sense of pride that formed inside of Ness and Paula, as well as a feeling of achieved vengeance; they had finally caught the creatures that imprisoned them. Jeff, while also satisfied by their triumph, observed the zombies flailing as they tried to free themselves from the ground, but to no avail. Being the man of science that he was, he couldn't help but lose himself in thought as bent down and scanned the tattered bodies and dead eyes. _Man, I wish I had the time to more closely study these things. _

Jeff was pulled from his reverie by Ness, who picked him up by the collar and raised him up. "Not now, Dr. Frankenstein. We've gotta head up through the cemetery, where these creeps were hanging out before Paula and I got kidnapped."

A crowd of people dashed over to the teenagers and showered them in gratitude, carefully avoiding stepping on the crumbling corpses. The blonde woman in the red blouse from before spoke up, standing in front of the swarm of people. "You guys really showed these freaks! We can't thank you enough."

"It was our pleasure," Paula began. "Besides, we had a little score to settle with the zombies ourselves. Now that they're mostly gone from around here, I think we'll head up north to see what's up. I have a strong feeling that the problem isn't quite over yet..."

"Well, we sure appreciate that. Up north of the cemetery, you'll find the catacombs of Threed. If you find anything there, make a note of it. Or try and take care of it yourselves. Hell, you're all more than capable, it seems," the woman grinned. "Just come back soon and let us know."

Paula nodded and made for the door with her friends when a yell pierced the silent air. "Hey you!" a voice called out from the ground. The group turned around collectively to face the direction of the noise; there was a zombie staring at the kids from the a fixed position on the floor on the tent. "You little bastards may have taken us out, but you'll never get Belch!" the corpse spat. "He's gonna ring your damn bells!"

Ness stepped forward, baseball bat in hand. He stopped in front of the lifeless form, forcefully crushing his bat against the zombie's throat. "We're not afraid of him, freak. We've dealt with all kinds of crap in the past few weeks, including a fight with a blood-thirsty mole and an ant so big that it'd make your sorry ass turn into dust in seconds. Trust us; we know how to deal with Giygas' power-hungry peons." Ness released the pressure of his bat from the zombie's windpipe as the creature violently sucked in for air. "Now, won't you just go back to dying, please?"

As Ness walked back over to his friends, Paula couldn't help but smile at Ness' brave little speech. Paula had found herself very fond and admiring of Ness since they had met a month or so ago. She felt something for him, but she couldn't quite place it. Even though she played it off as if it irritated her, Paula had become enamored with Ness' cocky attitude; he showed an attractive sense of self-confidence and overall charisma, something that Paula absolutely loved. Whether Paula knew it or not, or just simply wanted to avoid the idea, she was falling in love with her new friend.

"Let's go, guys. We can finally get past the cemetery and kick this Belch's ass," Ness said. "But first, I think we oughtta get some food, huh?" He glanced at Paula, who was eyeing him like mad. She had that certain spark in her eyes that she looked at him with after a heated battle; it was something that Ness knew very well by this point. Paula quickly realized that she was staring at him and flicked her stare away, blushing furiously. Ness smiled and made a waving-over motion. "Come on. Let's hit it."

Ness and his friends made their way down out of the tent and over to a nearby bakery to get some food for breakfast. The same block that had the drugstore at which Paula and Ness re-equiped themselves with new weapons contained this bakery, as well as a hospital and pizza place. The kids walked in and ordered coffee with a basket of fresh bagels. As they sat down at a set of wicker chairs and table, Ness sighed and spoke. "Man, I'm glad that's over. Zombies give me the creeps."

"Don't get too relaxed yet, Ness," Paula started. "We've still gotta find this Belch guy and stop whatever he's doing that's causing this." Paula stopped talking when she noticed a dirt stain on her dress sleeve. Pointing to the stain, she began to speak again. "I'm gonna go wash this off really quickly in the bathroom. I'll be right back." Paula sat up and walked over into the bathroom, leaving Ness and Jeff alone.

A couple moments of silence passed before Jeff cleared his throat. "So, Ness," he started, "how long have you guys been traveling around together?"

"Oh, about three or four weeks, I'd say. It's been so long and gone by so fast that I can barely even remember then journey before she was around," Ness chuckled. Jeff looked at Ness inquisitively and curiously, stirring a spoonful of sugar into his coffee. "What is it, man?" Ness asked, questioning Jeff's gaze.

"Oh, it's nothing," Jeff said before allowing a few more silent moments to pass. "I'm assuming that you and Paula...are..." He trailed off, moving his free hand in a circular motion toward Ness.

It took a couple seconds before Ness understood Jeff's inference. "Oh, no, no," Ness replied profusely. "I mean...I don't know. We haven't, you know, _done _anything...don't get me wrong; Paula's a damn cute girl, and I would go with her without even hesitating, but...it's just complicated. We have this whole 'saving the planet from destruction' thing going on, and there's just not any time, really."

Jeff nodded as he shifted his stare to the swirling coffee in his mug. Ness returned the question. "What about you, ladies' man? You have a girl back in that school of yours?"

Jeff looked back at Ness and slowly smiled. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Her name is Madison."

Ness was caught of guard by the affirmative response; he wouldn't have guessed in a million years that someone like Jeff would be dating anyone. "Is that so? What's she look like, huh?"

"Long, silky black hair, green eyes, and dark skin. She's got a build similar to Paula," Jeff answered. "She's from around here, apparently. Well, Twoson, anyways. That's where she came from before she arrived at Snow Wood three weeks ago about."

Ness nodded. He felt as if his pride had been wounded, like Jeff had "beaten him". Jeff was just a nerdy, lanky guy; not somebody that Ness would've considered to be part of the "playing field". Ness was still trying to court this girl that he had met only a few weeks ago as well, but unlike Jeff, he hadn't quite succeeded yet. Although he wouldn't have ever admitted it, he was a bit envious of his new friend.

Paula returned from the bathroom, straightening her bow. "All right. Let's eat."

The trio finished up and exited the bakery, heading for the cemetery in the northwestern section of town, carefully keeping notice of anything suspicious or hostile in the area. Nothing crossed their path, much to their surprise; not even a pumpkin seed-spitting kid or trashcan-residing moldy man. They soon came up to the area that had once been obstructed by two zombies and saw an underground entrance with a ladder leading to the catacombs. Ness and Paula descended without any delay, whereas Jeff was a tad hesitant to simply descend into who knows where. Ness noticed that Jeff was having second thoughts and reassured him as he went down into the ground. "Come on, Jeff. You've gotta just stop being skeptical about this stuff. I mean, out of all that you've seen already, what do you really have to fear at this point?"

Jeff shrugged and nodded, dragging himself over and down into the hole. The kids were surprised to find that the subterranean pathway was actually somewhat lit. A green gel was lacquered along the walls, emitting a light that allowed for limited visibility, just barely enough for Ness and his friends to make their way through. The air inside was stale and smelled of mold and mildew, filling the teenagers' noses with rather unpleasant odors. Ness lifted his shirt over his nose and coughed. "Man, no matter how many times I have to go through caves, I'm never gonna get used to this damn smell..."

Paula and Jeff laughed softly as they followed Ness through the catacombs. Inside the subterranean space was a series of descending staircases, leading deeper underground. Eventually, the stairs ceased and brought forth a large, nearly empty room. Paula spotted a gray coffin in the southern corner of the area and cautiously walked over to it. After giving a couple timid, weak kicks, she retreated to her friends. "I kinda wanna open it up, but..."

Ness made a "psh" sound as he cracked his knuckles and strutted over to the rotten casket. He pulled his leg back and landed a powerful kick on the rusted hinge of the box, successfully breaking off the cover. Ness peeked inside and smiled upon seeing his reward. Jeff and Paula lifted their heads to see a triumphant hand fly into the air, clutching a silver bracelet. "You just gotta take risks sometimes..." Ness trailed off, grinning as he equipped his treasure.

Paula rolled her eyes. "All right, Mr. Randomly-finds-trashcans-and-present-boxes-with-go odies-inside."

Jeff perked up at the last statement. "Wait a second," he started,"you guys have found present boxes scattered around in your travels, too?"

Ness nodded. "Tons of 'em. Not too sure about where they come from, or why they're lying around, but hey, I'm not complaining."

_Huh...guess Brick Road's hasn't been the only one putting presents around... _Jeff thought.

The trio went forward into another spacious room and passed through to find a long staircase leading up and out of the catacombs. There was a hole with a ladder similar to the one at the entrance of the underground tomb with light pouring out and spilling onto the dead earth below. The light particles fluttered and danced, charging in from the surface and inviting Ness and his friends to come join them up top. Ness began walking quicker as he noticed the exit, pulling his friends behind him. "Man," he said, "I thought that by now I'd be over hating caves and going underground. Guess not..."

As the teenagers reached the final step of the staircase, a shrill voice cried out in the near darkness, about a couple feet away. "Hey, you!"

Ness jumped back in surprise from the sudden break of silence and searched the vicinity for the source of the cry. He heard a squishy noise approach him, and he casted his eyes to the ground before him in a sharp motion. What lied before him may have been the strangest thing he had yet seen on the already crazy and flippant journey: a moving pile of vomit with eyes and a mouth.

"You guys have fly honey! I can smeeeeeeell it on ya!" the vomit puddle inhaled rapidly and generously as he bobbed up and down.

Ness opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Jeff, who was leaning out from behind Ness and staring at the nasty creature. "Is that what I think it is?"

"What, ain't you ever seen a talking pile of puke before?" the pile spat. "Now, are you gonna give me that fly honey or am I gonna have to rat you out to Belch?"

"The fly honey? What does Belch want with it?" Paula questioned. The pile furrowed its nonexistent brow and squinted its eyes as Paula realized that she had made a mistake.

"Wait a minute...you're not the fly honey delivery crew? You're just..._commoners_!?" the pile screamed, now growing irate. "The factory will hear of this! But not before I show you what we do to people that try to trick Master Belch!"

Ness and Paula stepped forward, readying themselves for a fight. Before either of the psychics had a chance to attack, the pile of vomit burped a cloud of strong, putrid gas. The kids felt their eyes fill with tears as the pile let out a piercing cackle. Paula kept her eyes shut and released a blast of PSI Fire towards the location of the pile, incinerating it. Ness stepped forward as well and blindly fired a PSI Flash attack in order to try and confuse the pile, but instead hit Paula due to his blindness. Once he finished his attack, he furiously wiped his eyes as Jeff did the same. The two boys looked to the ground to see a fallen Paula and a hardened, still puddle of now normal, lifeless puke.

"Oh my God..." Ness whispered as he bent over to look at Paula. He flipped his friend from a face-down position over on her back and shook her lightly in a futile attempt to wake her up. Ness increased his force when Paula's eyes hadn't opened. He was becoming very nervous very quickly, worried that he may have caused some serious damage with his foolish stunt.

Jeff leaned down and took Paula's hand to feel her pulse, remaining calm. "It seems that she's only unconscious. What happened there, Ness? I couldn't see worth a damn."

"I...used a flash attack. I didn't know she was in front of me, and...I guess she got hit..." Ness said softly, trembling as he held Paula's hand. He looked up to his new friend with an expression of extreme guilt and anxiety, clenching his teeth. "Are you sure she's okay?"

Jeff's countenance remained firm and matter-of-factual. He examined Paula's eyes, running the light of his flashlight across her unresponsive pupils. He conducted a test to check her breathing, and found that her breathing patterns had become slightly irregular. "I'm not a doctor, but judging from her vitals, she should be fine. Well...living, anyways. I don't wanna tempt fate here, Ness, but she might be in a comatose." Jeff could keep his cool rather easily in frightening situations, a trait he picked up from his father.

"You're the science type, aren't you? There's gotta be _something _you can do for her, damn it!" Ness nearly shouted, on the verge of a breakdown as he intensified his grip on Paula's arm.

"I'm _not _a _doctor_," Jeff repeated sternly. "My medical training is limited, Ness. I'm doing all I can. What we should do now, however, is get her to a hospital immediately. That I _can _tell you."

Ness turned around and looked over at the entrance of the large room from which they had left a few minutes ago, and saw that it was now obstructed by fallen debris, a result of Ness' powerful blast. "We have to go to the surface. Maybe there's a town up there with a doctor," Ness added. Jeff observed the blockage and agreed.

Ness tossed Paula over his shoulder and climbed up the ladder as Jeff followed. When the teenagers reached the top, they found themselves inhaling desperately for air, as the oxygen levels from inside the catacombs had been relatively low. After they were satisfied, they began heading up what appeared to be a valley and a small river before them. It wasn't long before they were stopped, however, by another weary traveler.

"Hey, would you kids happen to want a snack?" asked a voice from behind the crew. The kids turned around to see an older man in a grey suit and bowler's hat. "I thought you might be hungry, and I just so happen to have some foo-"

"No, we really don't, but if you happen to know of a nearby town with a doctor, that'd be great," Jeff interrupted.

The gray gentleman was taken off by Jeff's tone but replied courteously. "Oh, why yes, actually. There _is _a village up north through some caves that has a doctor, but let me warn you: they're a strange bunch."

"It'll have to do," Jeff retorted. "Thank you, sir."

The kids quickly walked away from the man and continued up the river towards the aforementioned caves as the old man shrugged his shoulders and sat down on a nearby tree stump. _Hmph...rotten kids...don't know a damn thing about respect..._

* * *

_It was scorchingly hot along the expansive highway in the Dusty Dunes Desert, hitting somewhere above one hundred degrees. Some buffalos and wolves in scattered packs roamed the unforgiving area, occasionally causing some problems for those who chose to brave the sandpit on foot. What one might consider the world's greatest traffic jam cluttered the single road in the middle of the desert, creating a blend of mixed reds, blues, silvers, and other common car colors. An unrestrained choir of radios, static, and screaming in frustration permeated the road. __  
_

_There was an older man leaning up against his drug store located at the start of the traffic jam. The store was little wooden shack that had seen better days, but still served as the sole provider in the fiery hell that was the Dusty Dunes. The old man took a drag on a cigarette as he smiled at some nearing customers, nodding his head as a greeting. Not too far from the drug store was a hole in the ground filled with monkeys and their messiah, a man by the name of Talah Rama. This man had a rather mysterious past, constantly changing as he tried to hide from his old life. Now he lived as a recluse, forever banishing himself from the society that had shamed him so many years ago. _

_The man in front of the store dropped his burnt cigarette and stomped it into the dry earth, circling the ground with his foot. It had only been a few days since a strange boy stopped by and stayed the night. The rental rooms in the small store were few and rather tiny, but they could sustain the weary traveler. Something wasn't quite right about the pig-faced boy, but the man couldn't quite put his finger on it. Even stranger than the boy was a very large package that the store had received earlier from a distant city called Happy Happy Village. The store owner was to __forward it to Fourside when the traffic conditions were reasonable, and rumor had it that it would be kept with the powerful Geldegarde Monotoli. Stricken by curiosity, the man took a peak into the crate that contained the shipment. The cracks in the wooden crate revealed a golden, statue-like figure with horns._


End file.
